Germany and Poland have reached an agreement on a repair center for Leopard 2 tanks used in Ukraine, Ukrinform reported on July 24, citing German Defense Ministry spokesperson Mitko Müller.
"We welcome that Ukrainian Leopard 2A4 tanks can now also be repaired in Poland," Müller said at a press briefing in Berlin.
Previously, the plan of the two countries to set up a maintenance center for Leopard 2 tanks supplied to Ukraine ran into delays as Berlin and Warsaw failed to reach an agreement on several key issues.
Germany complained that the Polish defense company PGZ asked for excessive prices for diagnostics, a decision that German tank manufacturers considered to be a "politically motivated" move by the incumbent Law and Justice party.
The repair facility is expected to be created at factories in two Polish cities, Gliwice and Poznan, and the costs of repairs would be covered by the German government. The cost of the facility should reach 150 million euros ($166 million).
To date, several damaged Leopard tanks have already arrived in Poland from Ukraine.
Igor Kossov
