Two weeks ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz turned the West’s policy on sending heavy weapons to Ukraine on its head when he announced the delivery of 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks, and gave authorization for other countries who have the heavy armor in their arsenals to do likewise. APĪ NATO coalition to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine has been set in motion, but it is not moving at the pace that Berlin would like. The German military hasn’t had any of the tanks since 2003, Defense Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz said.German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (left) holds a model of a Leopard tank with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov in Kyiv on Tuesday. The Leopard 1, manufactured between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s, was the first battle tank built for West Germany’s Bundeswehr. It wasn’t immediately clear when any deliveries might be possible, but it appeared unlikely to be a quick process. But it also said that there are issues so far with securing sufficient ammunition for the vehicles. It said that two companies, Rheinmetall and FFG, want to prepare dozens of Leopard 1 tanks that could be delivered to Ukraine if it is interested. Hebestreit’s comments came after the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that the government had cleared the export of the tanks and that they could be sent as soon as the defense industry gets them in working order. German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit confirmed Friday that “export authorization has been granted” but declined to give numbers or other details, saying that they may become more concrete “in the coming days and weeks.” He told reporters in Berlin that the application from industry to permit delivery of Leopard 1 tanks had been made “some time” ago. BERLIN (AP) - Ukraine could add old Leopard 1 battle tanks from German defense industry stocks to deliveries of modern tanks that Berlin and other governments pledged last week to counter Russian forces in the war.
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