Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Business

German Leopard 2 tanks have reached Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Leopard 2 tanks during live fire training and exercise for Ukrainian soldiers by German army Bundeswehr at the northern German shooting and training range of Bergen, Germany, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on March 14, 2023. Bundeswehr/Handout via REUTERS

The 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks pledged by Germany to support Ukraine in its war against Russia have arrived in Ukraine, the German Defence Ministry said on Monday.

Germany agreed in January to supply the tanks, regarded as among the best in the West's arsenal, overcoming misgivings about sending heavy weaponry that Kyiv says is crucial to defeat Russia's invasion but Moscow casts as a dangerous provocation.

"I'm sure that they can make a decisive contribution on the front," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in a tweet.

Besides the 18 tanks, 40 German Marder infantry fighting vehicles, and two armoured recovery vehicles had also reached Ukraine, a security source said.

The German army trained the Ukrainian tank crews as well as the troops assigned to operate the Marder vehicles for several weeks in Muenster and Bergen in northern Germany.

As well as the German vehicles, three Leopard tanks donated by Portugal also reached Ukraine, the security source said.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Rachel More; Writing by Maria Martinez; Editing by Friederike Heine, Tomasz Janowski and Alison Williams)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.