Ukraine’s demand for further rearmament of its Armed Forces now has as its main message the request to allies for tanks, in particular Leopard 2s, German-made equipment with which Ukrainian forces hope to contain potential Russian advances in the east of the country.
The Leopard’s main element is a 120-millimeter gun capable of firing at targets at several thousand meters. The German Armed Forces estimate the combat distance within the technical specifications of this tank, which is available in different versions in more than ten countries, at 5 kilometers.
The Leopard 2 has a capacity for four crew members and has a thermal display device, which would facilitate its use at night. It also has the capacity to negotiate water depths of up to four meters.
This type of equipment was once designed as a counterweight to the Russian T-90 tank, deployed by Moscow in the current military offensive on Ukrainian territory. It has already been used in combat scenarios, such as Syria or Afghanistan, and Ukraine now wants it to reinforce a flank where it feels particularly weak against Russia.
The Leopard also has the particularity of being of European manufacture, which facilitates its potential dispatch to the combat front, as well as the maintenance and repair of the equipment.
The position of Germany, which has already provided IRIS-T and Patriot defense systems to Ukraine, is key in the debate over the arrival of Leopard tanks. On its position depends not only the delivery of its own tanks, but Berlin can also limit other governments from deciding to help Kiev on their own, under a veto on exports to third countries.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
