Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany says Ukraine to receive 110 Leopard 1 tanks

Wednesday, 24 May 2023, 15:35

Oleksii Makeiev, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany, has announced that Kyiv will shortly receive German Leopard 1 main battle tanks.

Source: European Pravda; Makeiev on Twitter

Details: "110 Leopards 1A5. Soon," Makeiev tweeted and attached a photo of himself posing with one of the tanks, as well as a video from a tank repair facility.

Makeiev did not disclose any additional details, but it appears that these are the tanks that the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark promised to send to Ukraine in February.

The February announcement mentioned 100 tanks, and a later report indicated only 80 would be transferred to Ukraine.

Unofficial sources say the shipment includes Leopard tanks that Denmark decommissioned in 2010 and sold back to their German manufacturer, Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft, which has kept the tanks at its storage facilities.

On 28 April, Ukrainian tank crews started training on Leopard 1 tanks.

On 5 May, Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark's Acting Defence Minister, said that Leopard 1 tanks would be ready for deployment in Ukraine by 1 June.

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