Leopard 2 tank training for Ukrainian soldiers will begin next week, with hundreds of Ukrainian troops already deployed to the field in Poland and Germany. This was reported on February 2 by the Financial Times, citing sources.
According to the publication, the training will last about six weeks. At the moment, officials are thinking about ways to bring the tanks to Ukraine.
“If you want to bring them on time, before April, imagine how many trains, wagons are needed to deliver them there. And that’s just the tanks.[Есть еще] spare parts, ammunition – and time is limited, ”the Financial Times quotes one of the officials.
The day before, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the supply of heavy weapons to Kyiv by Western countries would not lead to a solution to the Ukrainian conflict. He also called sending tanks to Ukraine a risky decision and pointed out that it would be “useful only for arms magnates.”
On January 25, US President Joe Biden announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv. The administration of the American leader, however, noted that this could take months.
On the same day, the German government confirmed the decision to send German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The FRG is ready to form two tank battalions, at the first stage Berlin will send a company of 14 tanks.
Following the decision of Berlin, plans to supply tanks to Ukraine were announced in Spain, Finland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Norway.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned the supply of arms to Ukraine. On January 26, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia perceives the supply of Western tanks to Ukraine as the participation of NATO countries in the conflict against the Russian Federation.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of Russia’s special operation to protect Donbass, which the Russian authorities announced against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to Ukrainian shelling.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
