The Ukrainian military will begin training to operate Leopard 2 tanks in Germany next week. This was announced on Saturday, February 11, by the magazine Spiegel.
“The Bundeswehr will start training Ukrainian teams next week on the Leopard 2 main battle tank. According to Spiegel, over the past few days, the Air Force has already transferred the first groups of Ukrainian military personnel with military equipment from Poland to Germany,” the publication reported.
The training will take place at the Munster military training ground in Lower Saxony, where the Ukrainian military is already being trained to operate Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).
The Bundeswehr organized a crash course that will last 6-8 weeks, while it may take several years to fully master the Leopard 2 tanks. According to Spiegel, by the end of March, the Ukrainian military with military equipment will be able to be on the line of contact.
Prior to this, on February 2, the Financial Times newspaper had already reported that “next week” in Poland and Germany, training of Ukrainian soldiers to work with Leopard 2 tanks would begin. The publication also noted that the course would last six weeks.
On January 28, the Financial Times also wrote that when training to use the Leopard 2 tanks, the Ukrainian military may encounter difficulties due to the sharp complication of training. According to the authors of the material, problems in training may arise due to the fact that German tanks are significantly different from Soviet-made tanks familiar to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On January 25, the German government announced a decision to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The FRG is ready to form two tank battalions, and at the first stage, Berlin will send a company of 14 tanks. Following the decision of the FRG, plans to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine were announced in Spain, Finland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Norway. At the same time, US President Joe Biden announced the supply of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a Russian special operation to protect Donbass. Moscow has repeatedly condemned the supply of arms to Ukraine. So, it was noted that the tanks will not help to carry out the offensive and will be destroyed.
