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Dozens of Leopard tanks will arrive in Ukraine in coming weeks: German defense chief

Dozens of Leopard 1A5 tanks will arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks, Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Monday.

“In the coming weeks, dozens of Leopard 1 A5 battle tanks will be delivered to Ukraine, made available by Germany and Denmark,” Pistorius said in an interview with Polish daily Rzeczpospolita.

He added that Germany provided the second largest military aid to Ukraine in the field of equipment supplies, when it comes to direct financial assistance or that provided within the framework of the EU and is one of the countries that trains the Ukrainian armed forces to a large extent.

In February, Germany’s authorities had approved supplying Ukraine with 88 Leopard 1 tanks from their own stocks, according to Sueddeutsche Zeitung. The arrival of the tanks was dependent on when they would be repaired.

In the same month, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands had agreed collectively finance the restoration of at least 100 Leopard 1 tanks from industry stocks to give to Ukraine, according to a joint statement.

This comes as Ukraine had requested more Leopard 2 tanks from Germany to help its ground forces in the counter-offensive battles against Russian forces, after Moscow said in June it had destroyed at least a dozen of Kyiv’s tanks.

Additionally, this month, Russia claimed to have destroyed 16 Leopard tanks supplied to Kyiv by Poland and Portugal.

The Leopard 1 is a main battle tank developed in response to the perceived need for a tank that prioritized mobility and firepower, with less emphasis on heavy armor. The Leopard 1, equipped with a high-velocity 105mm gun and advanced for its time fire control system, quickly became known for its speed and firepower. It was widely exported and used by several NATO countries.

Comparatively, the Leopard 2 is a more modern and advanced main battle tank that improved upon many aspects of the Leopard 1. While it retained the high emphasis on firepower and mobility, the Leopard 2 also featured significantly enhanced armor protection, which was a key critique of the Leopard 1. Its primary armament is a larger and more powerful 120mm smoothbore gun, and it includes advanced features such as sophisticated fire control systems and improved battlefield awareness technologies. In overall performance, the Leopard 2 is seen as a superior tank to the Leopard 1 due to its improvements in armor, firepower, and technological capabilities.

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