Ukraine did not accept 10 German Leopard 1 tanks due to their poor condition – Spiegel
"A few days ago" Ukraine refused to accept a batch of 10 Leopard 1A5 tanks from Germany, saying they need to be repaired but Ukraine has no technicians and components for this.
Source: European Pravda with reference to German media outlet Spiegel
A few days ago, Spiegel reports, Kyiv informed the special staff of the Ministry of Defence of Germany that the German Leopard 1 tanks that arrived in Poland are in need of repairs, some of them require a major overhaul.
The German side sent a group of experts to Poland to examine the tanks themselves. There it was revealed that "they were already quite worn out after the training of the Ukrainian soldiers in Germany and needed repairs".
Moreover, several Leopard 1A5 tanks out of the batch of 10 which arrived in Ukraine in July broke down for the same reason.
The German Defence Ministry told Spiegel that it cannot comment on a "concrete individual incident" and added that the Leopard tanks are being repaired "jointly with Ukraine after intense training in Germany".
Spiegel also stated that the condition of the Leopard 1A5 tanks, a hundred of which Germany has promised to supply Ukraine with, reflects planning problems in German military aid logistics.
The tanks that are stuck in Poland are the second tranche of a planned massive Leopard 1A5 tank supply. They were withdrawn from service by the Bundeswehr over 10 years ago, but since a lot of these tanks are still in storage, armourers were ordered to repair them as soon as possible.
Background:
- At the beginning of August it was revealed that Germany would supply Ukraine with nearly 30 additional Leopard 1 tanks after the Rheinmetall armament concern bought them from Belgium.
- In addition to this, according to the media, Germany turned to Greece with a suggestion to supply Ukraine with 100 Greek Leopard 1A5 which are now in service, in exchange for upgraded armoured vehicles.
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