Tanks for Ukraine?
Germany cannot deliver Leopard directly, Switzerland is blocking Spain
Created: 01/15/2023 09:18
By: Richard Strobl
In the war with Russia, Ukraine needs tanks from Europe.
But there are problems with deliveries from Germany as well as from Spain.
The news ticker on war diplomacy.
German tanks not directly available: Leopard manufacturer declares significant delay in possible availability.
Switzerland blocks arms for Ukraine: Spain is not allowed to deliver.
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news ticker
on diplomacy in the
Ukraine war
is constantly
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.
Kyiv/Berlin - "German weapons, German tanks are essential for survival".
With these words, the Ukrainian ambassador Oleksii Makeiev addressed the federal government of Olaf Scholz before the negotiations of the western allies about further arms deliveries to Ukraine.
He wants to deliver in the coming weeks, but according to the manufacturer it's not that easy.
Next Friday, the defense ministers of Ukraine's western allies will meet at the US Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate to discuss further military support for the fight against the Russian attackers.
Great Britain was the first country to announce that it would provide the Ukrainian armed forces with Western-style main battle tanks – namely 14 of its own production Challenger 2. Poland and Finland are ready to supply German-made Leopard 2 tanks to the European network.
The federal government has not yet taken a position on this.
But according to Makeiev, Ukraine wants exactly these Leopard tanks.
Tank delivery stops: Leopard manufacturer cannot deliver directly to Ukraine
According to current reports, the Scholz government wants to make a commitment to Leopard soon.
But the manufacturer Rheinmetall is already warning: According to its own statements, the German armaments group could not deliver repaired Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine until 2024 at the earliest.
"Even if the decision is made tomorrow that we can send our Leopard tanks to Kiev, delivery will take until the beginning of next year," Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told
Bild am Sonntag
.
Soldiers drive a German Leopard tank during the "Iron Wolf II" military exercise at the Pabrade military training area.
(Archive) © Dirk Waem/dpa
According to Papperger, the armaments group still has 22 Leopard 2 vehicles and 88 Leopard 1 vehicles. “But we cannot repair these tanks without an order, as the costs are several hundred million euros.
Rheinmetall cannot finance that in advance," Papperger told the newspaper.
The repair of the decommissioned main battle tanks took "almost a year", Papperger continued.
"The vehicles are not only repainted, but have to be converted for a war effort." The tanks would be "completely disassembled and then rebuilt."
The Leopard could play a decisive role in the war, said the CEO: "With main battle tanks, an army can break through enemy lines and end a long trench warfare.
With the Leopard, the soldiers can advance tens of kilometers at a time.”
Tanks for Ukraine: Switzerland blocks Spanish delivery
Ukraine has long been demanding the delivery of Leopard tanks.
The debate picked up momentum this week after Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country was ready to do so as part of an international coalition.
However, this would require approval from Germany, the country of manufacture.
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Finally, on Saturday, Great Britain became the first country to announce the delivery of heavy battle tanks to Kyiv.
The delivery of the Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems should help the Ukrainian army "push back the Russian troops," said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The British commitment is increasing the pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to also send battle tanks to Ukraine.
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But it is not only in Germany that there are problems with the delivery of tanks to the Ukraine.
Apparently, Switzerland is preventing Spain from delivering war material to Ukraine.
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles told the
Switzerland Times
.
Accordingly, Spain needs the Go of the Confederates to deliver weapons manufactured in Switzerland.
However, the Confederates fear that their neutrality would be called into question should the arms be delivered to Ukraine.
According to
ntv
information, Switzerland is also refusing to allow Germany to export cheetah ammunition on the same grounds.
These are produced by the manufacturer Rheinmetall in Switzerland.
(rjs/dpa/afp)
