Athens will not supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to the detriment of its own defense capabilities. This was announced on Tuesday, January 31, by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a visit to Japan.
The politician recalled that Greece has already provided significant military support to Ukraine, in particular, by providing armored infantry vehicles (IFVs).
“But we will not give Leopard 2 tanks for the simple reason that they are absolutely necessary for our defense. We have made it clear that we are ready to support Ukraine, but not to the detriment of our defense capabilities, ”the portal quotes the prime minister. Nikkei Asia.
In particular, as noted in the material, the difficult situation in relations with Turkey forced Greece to refuse to supply tanks to Kyiv. Mitsotakis accused Ankara of “sitting on the fence.” In addition, he reproached the Turkish authorities for not imposing sanctions against Moscow and refusing to ratify the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.
Earlier this month, Norway, Slovakia, Britain, Poland and France announced their intention to provide Western-made tanks to Kyiv. So, according to the head of the German Ministry of Defense Boris Pistorius, Leopard 2 will be sent to Ukraine “until the end of March.”
As Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on January 31, at the moment the tank coalition has 12 members. According to him, within the framework of the first wave of provision, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will receive from 120 to 140 units of modern tanks of Western models. These are Leopard 2, Challenger 2, M1 Abrams.
At the same time, military expert Igor Nikulin expressed the opinion that the supply of tanks would not affect the course of the special operation in the Donbass. He noted that Berlin, for example, will provide Kyiv with obsolete military equipment, with which the Russian military will have no problems.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of a Russian special operation to protect Donbass. The decision to hold it was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces.
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