“Absolutely desolate condition”
Spain doesn’t want to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine after all
08/03/2022, 00:02
In 1995 Spain bought 108 used Leopard tanks from Germany. In June, Madrid is considering offering some of them to Kyiv – while other Western states are still ruling out the delivery of main battle tanks. Now it turns out, however, that the material is more of a case for the scrap yard.
Spain has them long-term delivery of around 40 main battle tanks of the type Leopard 2 A4 from German production to the Ukraine. The tanks are in “absolutely desolate condition” and not operational at all, said Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles during a visit to the Torrejón de Ardoz airbase near Madrid.
The combat vehicles mothballed in Zaragoza are in such poor condition that they could even pose a danger to those who would operate them, the minister stressed, state television channel RTVE and other Spanish media report. A repair is no longer possible, that was the result of a thorough examination.
The newspaper “El País” reported on the Spanish government’s considerations in June, citing the Madrid Defense Ministry. According to the report, consideration had been given to supplying around 40 Leopard tanks out of 108 that Spain had bought second-hand in Germany in 1995. Germany would have had to agree to a transfer. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht spoke to Robles on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June. Minister Robles said Spain is now considering the delivery of around 20 TOA M-113 armored personnel carriers and winter armor to assist Ukraine in Russia’s war of aggression.