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A report said Ukraine’s European allies sent Leoprad 1 tanks that were damaged and unusable. Photo/Illustration
KIEV – Ukraine really needed weapons when they intensively counterattacked to seize a number of territories occupied by Russia . They also enthusiastically accepted the aid of weapons that were considered too old and ancient by other countries.
However, a report released this week was surprising. The report stated that some of the weapons assistance obtained could not be used.
The German Defense Ministry in February announced a partnership with Denmark and the Netherlands to send a donation of “at least” 100 refurbished Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine. Germany itself retired the 42 ton diesel-powered tank in 2000.
But in its announcement, it described the Leopard 1A5 tank as a “powerful and powerful” addition to Ukraine’s defense. Since then, Ukrainian soldiers have been training at German bases on how to use them.
The problem was that many of these battle tanks – which were first launched in 1965 – could not be deployed on the battlefield at all.
On Friday, TV 2, a public broadcaster in Denmark, reported that 12 of the 20 Leopard 1A5 tanks it had donated were experiencing technical problems.
“Two of the tanks are in Poland with serious damage,” the outlet reported, citing a briefing delivered by Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen as reported by Insider, Saturday (23/9/2023).
And earlier this week, German outlet Der Spiegel reported that another 10 Leopard tanks had problems big enough that Ukraine refused delivery.
The report suggests that the German-Danish-Dutch consortium is unlikely to meet its ambitious deadline to provide Ukraine with dozens of Cold War-era tanks in working condition before winter.
(ian)
