The Spanish Ministry of Defense has decided on the timing of the transfer to Ukraine of six decommissioned Leopard 2A4 tanks
Spain has decided on the delivery time tanks Leopard 2A4 to Ukraine, armored vehicles will go into service with the Ukrainian army much later than previously promised. This is reported by the Spanish edition of El Pais.
The first six tanks, promised by the country's Defense Minister Margarita Robles to Zelensky, will be sent to Ukraine immediately after Easter, most likely Catholic, which is celebrated on April 9 this year. Prior to this, Madrid intended to transfer all the equipment by the end of last week. What is the reason for the transfer is not reported. The Spanish Ministry of Defense clarified that the tanks would be sent to Poland, and from there they would be transferred to Ukraine.
At the moment, all equipment has already completed the restoration at the Santa Bárbara Sistemas defense plant in Alcala de Guadaira in Seville and is preparing to be sent to the training ground, where it will be tested to receive a combat certificate. According to the newspaper, it will all take place in Cerro Muriano in Cordoba.
Initially, Spain promised Ukraine to supply only six tanks removed from storage, and to do it fairly quickly. But due to improper storage, the equipment had to be restored to factory conditions. While the first six Leopard 2A4s were being repaired in Seville, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Kyiv, promising Zelensky to increase the number of tanks from six to ten. Whether any work is being done on four more tanks is unknown, only the first six are mentioned in the Spanish press.
The day before, Germany (18 units), Portugal (3 units) and Britain (14 units) reported on the transfer of their tanks to Kyiv. Prior to this, Poland supplied its 14 Leopard 2A4 APUs, Canada handed over the first of the four promised, but states that the remaining three are already in Europe. Several more countries are preparing to transfer armored vehicles.
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