The Leopard 2 is a German-made tank with a range of about 500 kilometers. It was first put into service in 1979, has a length of 9.67 meters and a top speed of 68 km/h. It has a 120 mm smoothbore gun as its main armament and two coaxial light machine guns.

In addition to being used by the German military, this tank is used in more than a dozen European countries. Among other things, tanks have been deployed in Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Syria (Turkey).

Ukraine has said it urgently needs heavier armored vehicles to fight the Russian invasion. Kyiv has a limited number of tanks, most of them from the Soviet or post-Soviet period.

Although Ukraine has won significant victories – in the battles for Kyiv at the beginning of the war, as well as in the Kharkiv region and around Kherson in the south – the lack of tanks does not allow it to maintain its operations.

The wide availability of Leopards — for example, in neighboring Poland, which wants to supply Ukraine with them — makes them a good choice for Kyiv.

Ukraine claims it needs 300 tanks, while Western analysts counter that 100 could change the balance of the war.

So what’s the problem?

Because the tanks were handed over to countries with export permits, Germany could veto the re-exports, although Poland said Thursday it could simply ignore Germany and export its Leopards on its own.

For its part, Germany prefers a multilateral approach to the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine, rather than being perceived as acting unilaterally.

While he has supplied Ukraine with a large amount of equipment, including armored vehicles, he is also struggling with his post-World War II tradition of anti-militarism.

In addition, such resupply was considered problematic due to the much more obvious offensive capabilities of these tanks.

Germany has sought to tie Leopard supplies to a broader coalition that will supply other tanks, including the American Abrams, a tank that experts say is less suitable for the war in Ukraine because of its high fuel consumption.

What is the argument against supplying Leopard 2?

Opponents of this idea believe that these tanks will lead to an escalation of the participation of NATO countries in the war, increasing the risk of the war spreading.

Ukraine has said it will only use tanks within its internationally recognized borders, while its supporters say it is Moscow that continues to escalate the conflict, mobilizing more and more troops, striking civilian infrastructure and issuing veiled threats of nuclear strikes.

Source: Guardian