German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday that talks were starting immediately with his country’s defense industry for the rapid production of Leopard 2 tanks, which Focus magazine reports will be delivered to Ukraine before the end of March.
Pistorius promised that Kyiv would receive the tanks by “the end of the first quarter” during a visit to a German camp in Saxony-Anhalt on Thursday. Asked if this was being done in a hurry to support Ukraine ahead of Russia’s expected spring offensive, Mr. Pistorius said such a transfer would be “timely.”
“My main task now is to start negotiations with the defense industry with the aim of significantly reducing procurement time,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a military exercise in Altengrabuf, eastern Germany.
“If you look at ammunition, there is also the issue of quantity. This is another issue that I will raise in my talks with the defense industry, possibly next week, if the schedule permits,” he added.
It is expected that in the near future, training of Ukrainian servicemen in handling Leopard tanks will begin in Germany. Inevitably, Ukrainians will also be trained in the use of Marder armored fighting vehicles.
Christine Lambrecht, Pistorius’s predecessor as defense secretary, said Germany would try to deliver 40 Marders to Ukraine by the end of the first quarter.
Source: Focus, Reuters, CNN.
Source: Kathimerini
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