Germany announces it will supply Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2 tanks

Germany’s government has announced that it would send Ukraine 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allow tank re-exportation for other countries. The following statement was made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as per the website of the government.

“This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability,” Scholz says in the statement.

Yesterday, 24 January, Der Spiegel reported that the chancellor had made the decision to hand the Leopard 2 tanks over to Ukraine. According to the newspaper, at least one company (12-14 tanks) of Leopard 2A6 tanks will be sent to Kyiv.

Earlier in the day, Reuters claimed, citing US officials, that President Joe Biden could announce sending the M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine on 25 January. According to another source of the agency, the US could supply Ukraine with around 30 Abrams tanks in the coming months. The process can take months and even years, Reuters notes.

Politico previously reported that the US Administration plans to send Ukraine 30 M1 Abrams tanks. Washington’s agreement to supply Kyiv with the Abrams tanks was Germany’s condition for allowing other countries to hand the Leopard 2 tanks over to Ukraine.