Status: 02/01/2023 7:30 p.m
Germany has promised Ukraine 14 “Leopard” battle tanks. At the Bundeswehr location in Augustdorf, Defense Minister Pistorius has now promised a quick replacement – talks with the armaments industry are already underway.
During a visit to the Bundeswehr base in Augustdorf, Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius promised to try to find a quick replacement for the “Leopard” tanks promised to Ukraine. According to Pistorius, he would “resolutely get behind it” to ensure that tanks of the type “2 A7” were subsequently procured.
The “Leopard 2 A7” is the latest version of the main battle tank. Germany has promised to deliver 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks to Ukraine. They come from Augustdorf in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Bundeswehr must be efficient
The replacement “takes time,” admitted Pistorius. However, the necessary questions should be clarified quickly so that “the orders go out and production begins,” said the minister. Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, more than ever “the Bundeswehr’s ability to defend itself as part of an alliance and national defense has been at stake.”
Pistorius pointed out that he had already held talks with the armaments industry on Tuesday and was “very pleased about clear commitments and announcements of what is possible and can be achieved”.
Training planned in Lower Saxony
The training of Ukrainian soldiers on the “Leopard” tanks in Munster, Lower Saxony, will begin “at very short notice,” Pistorius said. It is a briefing in the most important skills, not a full-fledged education.
In addition to the 14 tanks that Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised Ukraine last week, five more tanks are to be kept in reserve, Pistorius said. These should be used, for example, if a tank breaks down during the training phase.
Since August 2022, the 203rd Tank Battalion, with around 550 soldiers, has also provided the core of the multinational NATO battle group in Lithuania, which is intended to strengthen the alliance’s north-eastern flank.