Ukraine Says It Will Receive 120-140 Western Tanks in ‘First Wave’ of Deliveries

 

 It's not clear when the tanks will start arriving in Ukraine

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onJanuary 31, 2023CategoriesNews

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday that Ukraine expects to receive between 120 and 140 Western-made tanks in the “first wave” of deliveries.

“The tank coalition now has 12 members. I can note that in the first wave of contributions, the Ukrainian armed forces will receive between 120 and 140 Western-model tanks,” Kuleba said. “These are Leopard 2, Challenger 2, M1 Abrams.”

He said Ukraine is “counting” on France providing its Leclerc tanks, but so far, Paris has not pledged to do so.

Kuleba didn’t specify a timeline for when the tanks would be delivered. It could take months or possibly years for the US-made Abrams tanks to arrive as the Pentagon is purchasing the tanks from General Dynamics, and they need to be manufactured.

When Berlin first announced last week that it would be sending its Leopard 2 tanks, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the delivery would take about three months. Ukrainian forces also need to be trained on the Western-made equipment, as its forces currently only operate Soviet-made tanks.

Poland has pledged to arm Ukraine with 14 of its Leopard 2s, and a Polish military official said Tuesday that they hope to cut down the training period for the tanks to only five weeks. There are Leopard training facilities in Poland, Germany, and Switzerland.

https://news.antiwar.com/2023/01/31/ukraine-says-it-will-receive-120-140-western-tanks-in-first-wave-of-deliveries/