German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on February 27 that Germany would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine by the end of March. According to him, military aid, not counting these tanks, has already amounted to €3.4 billion.
“We have provided €3.4 billion worth of military assistance, not counting the Leopard, which will be delivered next week or in one, that is, in mid-March or at the end of March,” he said.
At the same time, Pistorius did not specify the number of tanks in question.
In addition to tanks, Berlin will supply Kyiv with additional IRIS-T air defense systems, Pistorius added.
Earlier in the day, the German Ministry of Defense announced that Germany would transfer an additional six Biber tank bridge layers to Ukraine. Previous packages of military assistance to Kyiv already included three such vehicles. In total, Germany will transfer nine bridge layers based on Leopard tanks.
Meanwhile, on February 8, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French leader Emmanuel Macron in Paris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin would transfer military aid to Kiev as much as needed. In response, Zelensky called on the heads of European countries to transfer tanks and heavy weapons to Ukraine “as soon as possible.”
On February 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin called it unbelievable that Russia would again be threatened by German tanks. The head of state drew a parallel with the times of the Great Patriotic War. According to him, the enemies are again going to fight with Russia on the soil of Ukraine “by the hands of the last of Hitler, the hands of Bandera.”
Before that, on January 25, the German government announced a decision to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Germany 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, other European countries announced their plans to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, the decision on which was made against the backdrop of aggravation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
