Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced Friday that the Ukrainian Army will receive training in the operation of Leopard tanks, although so far no such armored vehicles have been authorized for delivery to Ukraine.
«We have a breakthrough: it is an opportunity for countries that own Leopard tanks to start training missions, courses for our tank crews. We will start with this and then we will move on,» the defense minister said in an interview with Voice of America.
Reznikov said that despite the fact that the Contact Group for Ukraine, which met at the German military base in Ramstein, has refused to approve the delivery of Leopard tanks to Kiev, it has allowed the training of Ukrainian soldiers with this type of tanks.
«I look at it with optimism. Because the first step has been taken: we will start Leopard 2 training programs,» Reznikov has pointed out, informing that the training arrangements have been made possible thanks to the initiatives of Poland and the UK.
In this regard, the Ukrainian defense minister expressed hope that Germany, «in a calm way of conducting its own internal consultations,» will come to a favorable decision on the transfer of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that «there is no alternative» to the supply of German-made Leopard tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the framework of the war against Russia.
In his usual evening speech, Zelensky reacted to the refusal of the Contact Group for Ukraine, meeting at the German military base in Ramstein, to approve the delivery of Leopard tanks to Kiev.
«We will still have to fight for the supply of modern tanks, but every day we make it more and more obvious that there is no alternative but to make the decision on tanks,» Zelenski reiterated, the Ukrainian presidency said in a statement.
The German government has refused this Friday to unblock the supply of Leopard model tanks to Ukraine on the grounds that there is no unanimous opinion on their deployment, although it is not closed to taking the step in the future, diplomatic sources have confirmed to Europa Press.
The supply of tanks has been the focus of international attention in recent days, as Berlin has in its power to authorize the re-export of the tanks to Ukraine, as requested by Poland and the Baltic countries.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
