News item | 07-02-2023 | 6:00 PM
Together with Denmark and Germany, the Netherlands is supplying at least 100 Leopard-1A5 main battle tanks to Ukraine. The countries also supply spare parts and ammunition. Defense also wants to contribute to education and training with instructors. Ministers Kajsa Ollongren (Defence) and Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) wrote this to the House of Representatives today.
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Together with Germany and Denmark, the Netherlands will purchase the Leopard-1A5s directly from the German industry. These are refurbished copies that were in storage. The Leopard-1A5 is a modernized version of the ‘Leo’-1A1 and predecessor of the Leopard 2.
“The war in Ukraine is at a crucial stage. I expect the fighting to intensify in the coming months. Russia continues to mobilize and there are signs that Russia is preparing a new offensive,” said Minister Ollongren. “That is why supplying main battle tanks is important. To maintain Ukraine’s sustainability and improve its position on the battlefield. Ultimately, it is about ensuring the continued existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state.”
Permission
The German and Dutch Ministries of Defense have been working for some time on an initiative to explore with the German industry the options for giving tanks to Ukraine. Because they are German-made, this country must give users permission if they want to supply their Leopards of this type to Ukraine. The latter happened recently. How many tanks will be delivered in addition to the 100 still depends on the revision process of the available tanks in stock at the German industry.
Leopard-2
The delivery of the Leopard-1A5 is separate from the initiative to also provide Ukraine with the modern Leopard-2A6 main battle tanks. Discussions on this are still ongoing. The defense ministers of the countries that support Ukraine militarily will meet again in Brussels on February 14, ahead of the meeting of NATO defense ministers. Then they talk about the delivery of the Leopard-2.