Madrid has allegedly revised its supposed plans to supply German-made tanks to Ukraine amid Berlin’s concerns
The German government reportedly raised the alarm over Spain’s supposed plans to provide as many as 40 German-made tanks to Ukraine, which were revealed in a media report last Sunday. Madrid allegedly had to scale back the scheme dramatically amid Berlin’s concerns, Business Insider Germany said on Saturday. The Spanish government apologized for the inconvenience to Olaf Scholz.
The outlet noted that the shipment of Leopard 2 battle tanks “This would be the first NATO member to send modern tanks in Ukraine” – which would presumably put pressure on Germany to follow suit. This would be “Extremely awkward” for the German leadership, Business Insider said.
Spanish officials have reportedly revised their initial plans to limit the number of vehicles, as reported by El Pais in early this month.
Unnamed German government sources claimed that the delivery of tanks could be delayed as the tanks are currently out of order and severely in need of repairs. This can lead to delays of several months. Business Insider cited unnamed German sources. Madrid must first clear Berlin for the shipment of the Leopard-2 combat tanks Spain had reportedly planned to send to Kiev. These were obtained from Germany in the 1990s. German law requires that the government reviews any deal involving German-made arms, even if it is resold to third parties.
El Pais reported that sources in Spain claimed Madrid was finalizing shipment of an anti-aircraft missile battery. Spain was also reported to be willing to send Ukrainian soldiers training and Leopard 2 A4 combat vehicles made in Germany.
This tank, along with other variants, entered service in 1979. The model has also been bought by over a dozen countries across Europe and the rest of the world.
Since the start of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine in late February, a number of EU member states, as well as the US, UK, and Australia, have been supplying Ukraine with weapons and ammunition.
Although these countries did not send heavy weapons to Kiev within the first month, others have started sending howitzers to Ukraine and multi-launch rocket system to the country.
Russia consistently denounced the shipping of weapons, asserting that they serve only to prolong the conflict.
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