In Poland will be the new operational center of the Leopard 2 tanks

First modification: 04/21/2023 – 17:53

This Friday, Ukraine’s allies met in Germany to see what will be their next step to support it in the war. Following the meeting, Germany, Poland and Ukraine agreed to establish an operational center for Leopard 2 combat cars on Polish soil, near the border with Ukraine, where maintenance or repair operations for the tanks are planned to be centralized.

“The idea is for them to be as close as possible to Ukraine so that they can be put into service as quickly as possible,” Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, said from the US base at Ramstein in western Germany.

All parties have agreed to finance the center, which will cost $384 million a year and could start operating by the end of May, according to Pistorius.

The so-called Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine –with the holders of the Defense portfolio of the allies of Kiev- it had called the meeting following demands from kyiv, which it says needs more ammunition and weapons to carry out its counteroffensive.

On Thursday, during the visit to kyiv of Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, President Volodimir Zelensky, assured that every delay in the delivery of weapons is paid for with “Ukrainian lives.”

“I have asked Stoltenberg to help us with the reluctance of our partners to supply more weapons, specifically long-range weapons, modern aviation, artillery and armored vehicles,” said Zelensky, who also called for Ukraine to be accepted as a member country. from NATO.

That’s exactly what the meeting was planned for. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the conference focused on air defense and ammunition in what is the latest in a series of conferences on weapons donations for the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“In total, the members of this Ukraine Defense Contact Group have provided more than $55 billion in security assistance to Ukraine. We have increased our contributions tenfold since we first met. More than a year later, Ukraine is still standing. Our support has not wavered. And I’m proud of the progress we’ve made together,” Austin said.

NATO member states and their allies have provided Ukraine with weapons and armor since Russia unleashed its invasion in February last year, but Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly called for more powerful weapons and faster supplies.

Specifically, countries such as Germany, Poland, Finland, Portugal, Spain and Canada are among the NATO allies that have sent -or are in the process of sending- Leopard 2 units belonging to their armed forces.

Meanwhile, Denmark and the Netherlands had announced the shipment of 14 German-built Leopard 1 heavy-duty cars to Ukraine early next year. Both models needed the approval of Germany -the country that produces them- to be able to send them to kyiv and, after months of pressure, Berlin gave in to become more involved in the war and gave the green light to the shipment.

“Germany is the main contributor to military aid to kyiv, second only to the United States and the United Kingdom,” said Pistorius, as a sign of Berlin’s involvement in the cause.

After the meeting and his visit to kyiv, Stoltenberg was optimistic this Friday and assured that he “trusts” that Ukraine is prepared to retake territory.

“I am sure that they will now be in a position to liberate even more territory,” Stoltenberg told reporters from Ramstein.

Although all of Ukraine’s allied countries have expressed their willingness to throw more military support to Ukraine, NATO membership is not yet on the table. In this regard, the head of the German Defense portfolio, Boris Pistorius, assured that “first things first.” And all its regional counterparts seem to agree: if Ukraine wants NATO membership to be considered, it must first win or not succumb to Russia.

With Reuters and EFE