The Leopard 2 was originally designed in the 1970s for the West German army in response to Soviet threats during the Cold War. The German-made Leopard 2 is one of the most well-reputed battle tanks in the world, perhaps second only to the U.S.-made M1 Abrams tank, military arms experts said. While the initial shipments fall far short of the 300 tanks Ukraine officials had hoped for, they mark a new phase of Western military support for the Ukrainian effort. The announcements follow a flurry of diplomacy, including at a meeting of defense officials last week at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. For weeks, Germany had faced growing pressure to provide some to Ukraine - or to allow other countries, like Poland, to send theirs. Much of the recent debate had centered on the Leopard 2, a German-made battle tank operated by about 20 countries worldwide, including more than a dozen NATO members. Ukraine invasion - explained U.S., NATO countries announce massive weapons package for Ukraine "But hundreds of 'thank you' are not hundreds of tanks," he said. "I can thank you hundreds of times, and it will be absolutely just and fair, given all that we have already done," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at this week's meeting of defense officials in Ramstein, Germany. Throughout the winter, Ukrainian officials have pressed the West for hundreds of modern battle tanks like those made by the U.S. announced plans to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks. Germany will send an initial shipment of 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks, and allow other countries to send their own, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. both announced they would send modern battle tanks to Ukraine. On Wednesday, that hesitation evaporated when Germany and the U.S.
and its NATO allies announced package after package of military aid to Ukraine, full of military vehicles, air defense systems, rockets and missiles, the West for months seemed to hesitate on the one thing Ukrainians have come to emphasize most: tanks. A German Leopard 2 battle tank pictured during a NATO training exercise in Lithuania last October.Įven as the U.S.
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