Madrid, 22 Feb. The Spanish government will send six Leopard 2A4 battle tanks to Ukraine, an amount that could increase, “if necessary and if the allied countries request it”, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Wednesday.
He told Congress that these vehicles, which will be integrated into a battalion with other countries, are being repaired to bring them up to date. I am convinced that they can be sent at the end of March or the beginning of April.
They were “very insufficient” in some army installations; Of the 50 stored there, “the ones that were better” were chosen, Robles told reporters after the parliamentary appearance. Repairs could be completed by the end of March, he added.
Ukraine received hundreds of modernized Soviet tanks from Poland and the Czech Republic to fight Russian forces, which invaded the country a year ago; and awaits the delivery of the first Abrams, Challenger 2 and Leopard 2 of the West.
Robles recalled that, at the same time, Spain is training 55 Ukrainian soldiers, 40 in the handling of Leopard tanks as crews and 10 in their maintenance.
The intention is to send these armored vehicles to Ukraine with “properly trained” crews; He also explained that shipping the Leopard “required permission from a certain government”, in reference to Germany, where they were manufactured.
So far, Spain has sent various weapons, ammunition, vehicles and other military equipment.
He also confirmed that Spain will deploy a battery of Nasams-type anti-aircraft missiles to northern Estonia for four months from April to protect its airspace on the eastern flank of Estonia. NATO.
The shipment responds to an express request from the government of this country, assured the Spanish minister. ECE
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