Germany will train Ukrainian soldiers in the handling of Leopard 2 tanks

german army will start next week at the Munster base (north of the country) on training of Ukrainian soldiers in armored combat management Leopard 2according to information from the magazine The mirror.

According to the same media, the first soldiers to undergo training have already traveled to Germany and some of them come from the battlefront, near the town of Bachmut.

The German army planned a quick instruction in which the soldiers learn the fundamentals on the use of the Leopard 2 and the possibilities of combining its action with that of the Marder armored defences.

Also in Munster, Ukrainian soldiers receive instructions on the use of the Marder.

The brief instruction will only convey the essentials. Training in the use of Leopards normally lasts several years.

According to the plans, the soldiers they must return to the front, with the Leopards, at the end of March.

As reported The mirrorsince the beginning of the war 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers received training in German on the use of air defense systems, Marder armored defense vehicles or Panzerhaubitze 2000 mortars. These are systems that Germany then made available to Ukraine.

On January 25, the German government set a goal to supply Ukraine with the Leopard 2 for two battalions, each of which usually has 31 armored vehicles in Ukraine.

A total of 14 Leopard 2s will be supplied directly by Germany while the rest will have to be supplied by other allies.

Half of Russia’s main battle tanks were likely destroyed or captured by Ukraine, a senior US defense official said on Friday.

Russia “probably lost half of its main battle tanks in combat and captured by Ukraine,” Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, said at a virtual Center for Defense event. a New American Security.

Wallander’s estimate – which did not provide an exact figure for the number of main battle tanks lost since Russia invaded the country in February 2022 – comes as Ukraine is set to receive an influx Western heavy main battle tanks from his supporters.

Britain said its Challenger 2 tanks would be deployed to Ukraine in March, while Germany and its allies aimed to send a battalion of Leopard 2 tanks to kyiv in April.

The United States has also promised a battalion – or 31 – of its M1 Abrams tanks, but these are expected to take much longer to arrive.

(With information from EFE and AFP)

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