Denmark and the Netherlands have signed contracts to purchase 14 Leopard 2 tanks from the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall for Ukraine, the German newspaper Handelsblatt wrote on June 15, citing NATO officials.
According to the news outlet, the two countries paid a "three-digit million sum."
The German government was also involved in the deal, as its consent is necessary for exporting domestic-produced arms, Handelsblatt added.
The Dutch and the Danish governments revealed the plans to purchase more than a dozen of German-made Leopard 2 tanks in April, promising to deliver them by "early 2024."
Amid Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive, Russian sources began to share alleged footage of destroyed Western equipment, including Leopard 2 tanks.
According to the open-source investigation group Oryx, Ukrainian forces might have lost one Leopard 2A4 and three Leopard 2A6s, as well as three Leopard 2R mine-clearing tanks.
Kyiv did not reveal the extent of its losses and Berlin said it has "no information" regarding the destroyed Leopards. However, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Melnyk has called on Germany to provide further tanks and other armored vehicles to offset the current losses.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
