Pistorius: Germany to prepare over 100 Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine this year

Germany will prepare over 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks for Ukraine by the end of the year, Die Welt wrote on June 12, citing German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

"We will not be able to replace every disabled tank (in Ukraine) at the moment," Pistorius said on air.

"But what we are doing... since July, we will continue to supply Leopard 1A5 tanks that have been refitted, and by the end of the year, there will be over 100 of them."

Berlin announced the transfer of more than 100 older Leopard 1 tanks in February. At that time, Pistorius said that the first pieces should arrive in summer, but the entire batch will be delivered only by early 2024.

Since the start of the counteroffensive in Ukraine, alleged footage of destroyed Western equipment, including the German-made Leopard 2 tanks, began to circulate on social media.

While Berlin said it has "no information" regarding the destroyed Leopards, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Melnyk has called on Germany to provide further tanks and other armored vehicles to offset the current losses.

Kuleba: Ukraine aims to establish defense industry alliance with West

Ukraine is actively working towards forging a defense industry alliance with Western partners to ensure it continues to get access to the modern military equipment it needs to counter Russian aggression, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on national television on June 12.

The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan