According to government sources cited by El Pais, Spain plans to supply four to six Leopard 2A4s to Ukraine. The final figure will depend on the condition of the 53 tanks stored for a decade in Zaragoza, on the urgent restoration of which the Ministry of Defense is negotiating with the military industry and with the participation of other countries. So far, Germany has announced the delivery of 14 Leopard 2s “as a first step” and Canada four.

In addition to tanks, the Ministry of Defense can supply Kyiv with a set of spare parts for Leopards. Delivery of ammunition (120-mm shells) presents great difficulties, since Spain does not produce them and would have to resort to army stocks.

Last Thursday, the first meeting of the coalition of countries wishing to supply the Leopard took place in Kyiv via videoconference, which was convened by the new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, which was attended by his colleagues from Canada, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and Finland. . Surprisingly, Poland, as El Pais comments, was not present at the meeting, although it was she who most of all insisted on the supply of Leopards to Kyiv and threatened to supply them even without Berlin’s permission.

Experts warn that the first Leopards to appear on the battlefield will become the main target of Russian troops, not only for military purposes, but also for propaganda purposes. That is why they recommend that the German-made Leopards arrive not alone, but accompanied by other tanks promised by NATO partners: 14 British Challenger 2s, 31 American Abrams or French Leclercs, whose mission is still is in the process of designing from the Elysee Palace.

However, heterogeneous tanks can become a “headache” for the Ukrainian military, which will have to manage different supply chains for the Challenger, Abrams or Leclerc, in addition to the Soviet tanks T-64, T-72 and T. -80. with which the Ukrainian army was already equipped.

To prevent the destruction of its new Western tanks, according to El Pais, Ukraine must ensure that Russia does not achieve air superiority on the battlefield by increasing its arsenal of anti-aircraft weapons. In this context, however, the United States has pledged to bolster Kyiv’s defenses by sending the Patriot system to boost Ukraine’s missile defenses.

Source: El Pais