The German government has granted an export license for Leopard 1 battle tanks to Ukraine, executive spokesman Steffen Hebestreit confirmed Friday, after authorities announced they would deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev to cope with the Russian invasion.
Haberstreit said that the request to export the tanks was submitted «quite some time ago,» without giving further details. «I don’t want to say much more at the moment, it will be finalized in the coming days and weeks,» he stressed, as reported by the German news agency DPA.
According to the information gathered by the newspaper ‘Suddeutsche Zeitung’, the manufacturers Rheinmetall and Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) want to prepare dozens of Leopard 1 battle tanks for export to Ukraine, although, according to this media, so far there have been problems with the acquisition of ammunition.
«Even if it is decided tomorrow that we can send our Leopard tanks to Kiev, delivery will be delayed until early next year,» Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger explained to the Sunday newspaper ‘Bild am Sonntag’ in January. «The vehicles will not only be painted, but will also have to be converted for wartime use. They will be completely dismantled and then rebuilt,» he added.
The Leopard 1 is the first battle tank built for the German Armed Forces after World War II. It was produced between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s, although the army withdrew its last tanks of this model from service 20 years ago. Despite this, nine countries in the world continue to use it today.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed at the end of January that Berlin will send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kiev to reinforce the capacity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, after days of speculation about the position that Berlin would finally adopt. Following this, the German Executive explained that it will deliver fourteen Leopard 2A6s in the German Armed Forces’ arsenal.
Berlin’s approval also includes authorizations for other countries, such as Poland, to send their German-made tanks, in the midst of the Ukrainian government’s requests for the delivery of advanced weaponry to confront Russian forces, which have intensified their offensives in the Donbas region (east) in recent weeks.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
