Ukrainian tankers have already started training on Leopard 1 tanks of the old model, and from the middle of 2023, 80 such tanks will be gradually transferred to Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this in an interview with the Spanish publication La Vanguardia.
His statement was made in response to a question about whether the already transferred Leopards are enough for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, if the last meeting of the Ramstein format was mostly about shells, anti-aircraft defense and spare parts.
The minister recalled that in March, Ukraine received 18 modern Leopard 2 A6s and 40 Marder BMPs from Germany, in addition to the necessary spare parts and ammunition.
He reminded that the Netherlands and Denmark together with Germany are preparing the transfer of the old model Leopard 1 A5 tanks.
"The training of over a hundred Ukrainian soldiers for the Leopard 1 just started this week. The delivery of up to 80 Leopard 1 tanks will begin in the middle of the year," said Boris Pistorius.
He also noted that Poland agreed to create a maintenance center for Leopard 2 tanks to maintain the combat capability of the transferred vehicles.
It will be recalled that in February, the Netherlands, together with Germany and Denmark, announced plans to transfer 100 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine - they will be sent as soon as they are brought to the proper technical condition. In the interview, Pistorius does not specify why he named the number 80 tanks. Perhaps we are talking about a party whose promise to restore was taken by Germany itself.
