Polish Soldiers, assigned to the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade operate a Leopard 2 tank during a multinational training scenario in Bemowo Piskie, Poland, Feb. 6, 2020.(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Hamlin)
On February 24, Poland delivered the first batch of German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine as Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited Kiev.
The delivery came on the one-year anniversary of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, which was launched to “denazify” and “demilitarize” the Kiev regime.
At a meeting of the National Security Council in Warsaw, President Andrzej Duda said: “The prime minister couldn’t be here, he went to Kiev to bring Leopard tanks which are the first batch delivered to Ukraine.”
After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, Morawiecki revealed that the first batch delivered to Ukraine consisted of four tanks.
In January, the German government announced it would make 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks available for Kiev forces and would give authorization to European partners to re-export their tanks to Ukraine. Poland was first to take advantage of the German decision. The country pledged to supply 14 Leopard 2A4s to Ukraine.
Ukraine is set to get four more Leopard 2A6s from Portugal, and a total of 22 additional 2A4s tanks, four from Canada, eight from Norway and ten from Spain. Finland will also provide three Leopard 2R heavy mine breaching vehicles.
Furthermore, recent reports revealed that Sweden could supply as many as ten of its Strv 121 tanks, which are based on the Leopard 2A5.
Both the Leopard 2A4 and 2A5 are armed with the Rh-120 L/44 120 mm gun, while the newer 2A6 is armed with the more lethal Rh-120 L/55 gun of the same caliber. All three versions are powered by MTU MB 873 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V12 twin-turbo diesel engine with 1,479 hp and can reach a top speed of up to 70 kilometers per hour.
In addition to the Leopard 2s, Kiev forces are set to receive in the upcoming few months 14 Challenger 2 tanks from the United Kingdom and 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks from the United States.
While the Leopard 2, Challenger 2 and Abrams are considered to be NATO’s top main battle tanks, all three suffered losses when faced with Soviet and Russian anti-tank systems during operations in Iraq or Syria.
Western tank supplies to Ukraine are meant to prepare Kiev forces to launch a large-scale offensive against the Russian military next Spring. While the tanks will make up for some of Ukraine’s material losses, they will not likely provide an advantage.
