After losing several hundred tanks in a year of war, Ukraine will finally be able to replenish its stocks with tanks from allied countries.
After the British decision to deliver Challenger 2s in mid-January, Europe experienced another decisive week with the German release for the delivery of Leopard tanks, triggering a wave of announcements from the countries allied with kyiv.
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Questioned this Friday, January 27 on the set of
BFMTV
, the Ukrainian ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko declared that "
many countries have officially confirmed their agreement to deliver 321 heavy tanks to Ukraine
".
President Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine needed far more tanks than "
five, ten or fifteen
".
According to the highest ranking Ukrainian army, General Valeri Zalouzhny, quoted by the
New York Times
, at least 300 tanks would be needed to mark a turning point on the front.
This figure of 321 tanks put forward by the ambassador is therefore good news for Ukraine, provided that they can be operational quickly on the ground, before a possible Russian counter-offensive in the spring.
Vadym Omelchenko however did not specify the donor countries, nor therefore the exact number promised by each of them.
But many have formalized their delivery agreement.
Le Figaro
gives an overview of promises of tank deliveries among Ukraine's allies.
Read alsoParis hesitates to deliver Leclerc tanks to Ukraine
The bulk of the heavy tanks delivered to Kiev should be composed of German Leopard 2s, which constitute, with 2260 copies in NATO member countries in Europe according to the specialized blog
Blablachars
, one of the most important tanks in this area.
Berlin has set the objective of forming, with the other committed partner countries, two battalions of these tanks, ie a hundred units.
In detail,
Germany
, through the voice of its Head of State Olaf Scholz, announced the delivery of 14 Leopard 2 type 2A6 from the stocks of its army, the Bundeswehr.
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Germany will deliver its Leopard tanks to Ukraine "at the end of March, beginning of April"
The Leopard Coalition
Poland
, for its part, formalized the
delivery of 14 of these German-made tanks.
And Warsaw announced on Thursday that it would also deliver around sixty additional tanks, including 30 PT-91s, a modernized version of the Soviet T-72, a decision hailed by the Ukrainian president on Friday.
“
I thank (…) for such important decisions to supply Ukraine with 60 Polish tanks, including 30 PT-91s, as well as 14 Leopards
,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter, two days after the news was announced. Germany and the United States to Supply Heavy Tanks to Kiev.
The Polish head of government Mateusz Morawiecki also recalled on television that Poland had "
already delivered 250 tanks (...) and even more than that
to Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
Most of them are T-72 tanks of Soviet design.
If almost all the Leopard tanks of the member countries of NATO are in Europe, the
Canadian army
which made the choice of German tanks, constitutes an exception.
And the country announced in this case, through the voice of its Minister of Defense, the delivery of four Leopard 2.
In the announcement cascade that followed the German Chancellor's statements,
Norway
also announced its intention to deliver Leopards.
"
We must support Ukraine in this defensive war
," Defense Minister Bjon Arild Gram said, without specifying the exact number.
According to the Norwegian newspaper
Dagens Næringsliv
, Norway could deliver 8 Leopard tanks out of the 36 it has.
To complete the Leopard 2 battalions, several NATO countries with these tanks have also announced that they will participate in this effort, without necessarily specifying the number of tanks.
Spain
is "
willing
"
to send Leopard heavy tanks but also to participate in the "
training
" of Ukrainian soldiers for their "
use
" and "
maintenance
", said Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
According to the Spanish press, Madrid could draw from its base in Zaragoza where around a hundred tanks are stored, of which 53 units are operational with at least twenty usable quickly.
Its neighbor
Portugal
also offered to supply Leopard 2 tanks.
Finland ,
for
its part, has formalized its cooperation to "
create a separate platform to reinforce Ukraine with armor, including tanks
", according to the statement of its president.
The President of Finland, whose army is equipped with more than 200 Leopard 2 tanks, mentioned a possible contribution, insisting on a training role on the Finnish side.
Challenger and Abrams
Sweden
announced, without giving a number, that the
delivery of its main battle tanks, the Stridsvagn 122, an improved version of the Leopard 2, was not impossible.
Other countries have also shown themselves open to such a possibility without confirming any delivery for the moment.
Denmark
and
the Netherlands
are
in
this case.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Olaf Scholz finally decides to deliver battle tanks
To the Leopard 2 are added the 14 Challenger 2 tanks promised to Ukraine by the
United Kingdom
.
The British were the first to announce, as early as January 14, that they would supply kyiv with heavy tanks.
And this Thursday, the Secretary of State for Defense Alex Chalk clarified before Parliament that the government was ensuring that these tanks arrive “at the
end of March
”.
The
United States
, meanwhile, waited for announcements from the United Kingdom and Germany to declare that they would send 31 Abrams heavy tanks.
This valuable announcement is in addition to the $24.2 billion in total U.S. military assistance since the Russian offensive in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.
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