Published: Less than 40 min ago
Germany has delivered 18 promised tanks of the Leopard 2 type to Ukraine, the German Ministry of Defense announces. British tanks have also arrived, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.
“Our tanks have arrived and are in the hands of our Ukrainian friends as promised and on time,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement.
British Challenger tanks are also in place in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
– They are already in Ukraine, Ukrainian spokeswoman Iryna Zolotar told AFP, without giving further details.
Ukraine’s defense minister announced earlier on Monday that he had inspected a “new addition” to the Ukrainian defense from Britain and Germany.
“A year ago, no one would have thought that the support of our partners would be so strong,” writes Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Facebook.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday that the Ukrainian units trained to use the tanks are fully trained.
“Ukrainian tank units have completed training on Challenger 2 tanks in the UK and have returned home to continue their fight against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion,” the British Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement.
Ukraine has asked for modern tanks from countries in the West. They are considered to be a crucial part of the arsenal to both stop Russian offensives and launch their own spring offensive against the invasion forces.