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German defense minister: NATO countries could transfer 62 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk on Feb. 26 that NATO can likely provide Ukraine with a total of 62 German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

“Yes, it can happen,” Pistorius said. “And then we will see how the course of the war changes after that.”

According to him, overall, Ukraine's Western partners are theoretically capable of handing over 300 tanks as requested by Kyiv.

This number of tanks will be enough to form two tank battalions, the minister said. However, Pistorius doubted that Germany would approve additional Leopard 2 deliveries, as the country's industry must first replace the tanks in Germany's own stocks.

“If I gave away all the tanks, we wouldn’t be able to train anymore, and if we couldn’t practice anymore,” he said.

On Jan. 25, Germany finally agreed to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allowed the re-export of the same models from other countries.

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We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

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The list includes Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine's defense minister and previously the longest-serving prime minister, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, Deputy Presidential Office head and ex-commander Pavlo Palisa, and Sergiy Kyslytsya, the first deputy foreign minister and one of Ukraine's key negotiators.

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