Germany and Denmark to transfer dozens of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine in coming weeks – Defense Minister Pistorius

Ukraine will receive Leopard 1A5 tanks from Germany and Denmark as part of military aid in the coming weeks, according to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius's quote to Rzeczpospolita.

Germany is currently providing the second largest military assistance to Ukraine in terms of equipment, direct financial assistance, or assistance within the EU, he said.

German instructors also continue to help train the Ukrainian military, Pistorius added.

Dozens of Leopard 1A5 battle tanks provided by Germany and Denmark will arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks. In May we have just prepared a new aid package worth 2.7 billion euros, which includes additional urgently needed weapons such as IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, the defense minister said.

Back in May, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced a joint transfer of 80 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine with Germany.

These tanks have a 105-mm gun and a twin MG3 7.62 mm machine gun. Until the 1980s, the vehicle was considered Germany's main battle tank.

The Leopard 1A5 is the latest production model. It is equipped with a Krupp-Atlas Electronik EMES 18 computerized fire control system with a Carl Zeiss thermal imager, which is based on the system of the modern Leopard 2.