Only after much hesitation does the German government assure Ukraine that it will supply Leopard 2 tanks. Now Berlin wants to allow the arms industry to pass on the previous model to Kyiv. However, there are problems with the procurement of ammunition for the Leopard 1 main battle tank.
The federal government wants to allow the transfer of Leopard 1 main battle tanks from industrial stocks to Ukraine. This was reported by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. The approval has not yet been formally granted, according to government circles.
According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, Rheinmetall and the Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) want to prepare dozens of Leopard 1 tanks and could supply them to the Ukraine for the fight against Russia. According to the report, however, there have been problems with the procurement of ammunition so far.
The Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported last week that Brazil had turned down a German request for the sale of tank ammunition. It is said to have been about ammunition for Leopard tanks. In addition to Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, Brazil also has German-made Leopard 1 main battle tanks.
Last week, the federal government had already decided to deliver 14 Leopard battle tanks from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine. In addition, it allowed other countries to supply such German-made battle tanks. According to Rheinmetall, it could supply a total of 139 Type 1 and Type 2 Leopard tanks. A company spokesman announced this to the editorial network Germany last week.
In just under a year, the company could provide 22 Leopard 2 battle tanks from its own stock. However, it is unclear when an additional 88 Leopard 1 vehicles from the armaments group could be ready. The federal government’s 29 tanks, which are intended for ring exchanges, should be ready in the spring.
