Spain to send four more Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in addition to six already promised

Following Wednesday’s Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles has confirmed that Ukraine will receive four more Leopard 2 tanks in addition to the six already promised.

Source: European Pravda, citing El Espanol.

Robles said the first six tanks would be delivered to Ukraine in the "near future". The Leopard 2s that Madrid has promised to send are still being repaired at defence industry facilities in Seville.

Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, mentioned the possibility of increasing the number of Leopards from six to ten when he visited Kyiv in February. The decision was made after additional equipment in a suitable condition was found in storage.

Robles also announced that Spain would supply a new batch of TOA M113 armoured personnel carriers – so-called armoured tracked vehicles used for transporting combat units.

It was recently reported that the first ten Ukrainian crews that will operate the Leopard 2 A4 battle tanks have completed four weeks of training at the National Training Centre in Zaragoza, Spain. 

Robles said more than 850 servicemen with a wide range of specialisms have been trained in Spain within the scope of the European Union's aid mission under the leadership of the Training Coordination Centre in Toledo.

Background: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Tuesday that as of today, nine countries had declared their intention to send more than 150 Leopard tanks to Ukraine. In addition, the Swedish government has decided to send 10 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in preparation for the upcoming counteroffensive.

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