Berlin will deliver 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kiev by the end of March, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced during his visit to the Ukrainian capital.
“I can confirm Germany’s commitment that our 14 Leopard 2A6s will be delivered by the end of March,” he said in statements to the Bild newspaper.
He also added that he had met with Ukrainian servicemen who will arrive in Germany shortly to learn how to operate these tanks.
The day before, German authorities confirmed the allocation of 178 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. In addition, between 20 and 25 battle tanks in question Berlin plans to supply jointly with several European countries by this northern summer, and more than 100 by the beginning of 2024.
At the end of January, Germany approved the shipment of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, in addition to authorizing the supply of these tanks from other countries.
Numerous countries condemned the military operation launched by Russia on February 24 to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, and support Kiev with arms supplies, donations, humanitarian aid and sanctions against Moscow.
Russia, for its part, sent notes of protest to all states supplying arms to Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipment to Kiev will become a legitimate target for the Russian Armed Forces.
