Germany, alongside Denmark and the Netherlands, will provide 77 additional Leopard 1A5 tanks from the Cold War era to Ukraine, as announced by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. Furthermore, Berlin plans to send twelve more PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers to Kyiv.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz approved the shipment of German tanks to Ukraine in January 2023. While the exact number of tanks lost by Kyiv remains unclear, the Russian military has published several videos showcasing the destruction of these vehicles.
Pistorius met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting at the US Ramstein military base in Germany on Friday. Zelensky attended to seek additional military support from Western allies. The German minister reassured him that Berlin is committed to a steady supply of military aid to Ukraine.
Pistorius estimated that Germany and Denmark have already delivered 58 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine, with an additional 77 tanks set to be supplied soon.
“We will deliver twelve modern PzH 2000 howitzers to Ukraine, with six expected to arrive in the country by the end of this year,” Pistorius added.
He went on to say that air defense remains a crucial area for Kiev and that more hardware is needed to better fend off Russian missile strikes. According to the minister, Germany is funding the purchase of twelve IRIS-T air defense systems to be shipped to Ukraine. Moreover, Berlin has pledged more medium- and close-range systems, including more than 60 self-propelled Gepard anti-aircraft guns.
Pistorius also claimed that since November 2022, more than 16,000 Ukrainian service members have been trained on German soil.
In mid-July, the Bavarian daily Munchner Merkur, citing government data, claimed that Germany had secretly delivered a “huge” defense aid package to Ukraine between late June and early July. The package reportedly included ten Leopard 1A5 tanks, among other hardware.
The media outlet also alleged at the time that Berlin planned to send e 85 more of the same tanks to Ukraine by an unspecified date as part of a joint project with Denmark.
Moscow has consistently warned that deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine only serve to prolong the bloodshed, without changing the course of the conflict.