The German Chancellor, Olaf Schölzannounced on Wednesday the decision to make tanks of the “Leopard 2” type available to Ukraine, according to a spokesman for the Executive in Berlin.
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“This decision follows our known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. We act internationally in a highly coordinated manner,” the foreign minister added, the spokesman added, Steffen Hebestreit.
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The objective is to “to assemble quickly send two battalions with Leopard 2 tanks. In addition, Germany in a first step will make available 14 ‘Leopard 2A6’ that come from the stocks of the federal Army”as added in the government statement.
Other European partners will move their ‘Leopard 2’ type tanks. The 2A6 model is more recent and perfected than the 2A4 that Poland and Finland want to deliver, for example.
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The training of Ukrainian soldiers will begin quickly in Germany. In addition to training, the package will also include logistics, ammunition and maintenance of the systemadd the note.
The spokesman specified that Germany will issue the corresponding transfer permits to partner countries that wish to quickly deliver the ‘Leopard 2’ tanks from their stocks to Ukraine.
The Leopard is a heavy tank that, according to specialists, could break the Russian lines in eastern Ukraine, eleven months after the invasion.
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These tanks are widespread in Europe, but to be sent to kyiv required authorization from Germany, which has come under tremendous pressure in recent days from its NATO partners.
The Leopard is a heavy tank.
US studies sending tanks
The UK has already announced the delivery of 14 Challenger 2 heavy tanks to Ukraine. And according to the Wall Street Journal, which quotes senior US officials, the United States is considering sending its M1 Abrams assault tanks, which until now it has refused to do due to alleged maintenance and training difficulties.
The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoli Antonov, assured that if Washington delivers tanks to Ukraine it will show who is “the real aggressor in the current conflict.”
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“If the United States decides to send tanks, it will be impossible to justify such an action by arguing that they are defensive weapons. It would be a flagrant provocation to the Russian Federation,” the ambassador said.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from EFE and AFP
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