United to win: Germany and Denmark donate eight Leopard 1 A5 tanks to Ukraine

Germany and Denmark transferred eight more Leopard 1 A5 tanks to Ukraine.

The German government reported that on its website.

In addition, in the latest aid package, Germany provided Ukraine with:

• 21 thousand shells for Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled guns;
• Ten ground drones;
• two Bergepanzer repair and evacuation armored vehicles;
• Ten ground radars;
• 24.8 thousand helmets;
• one field hospital.

For reference:

The Leopard 1A5 was an updated version of the 1985 Leopard 1, designed to combat Soviet tanks such as the T-64, T-72, and T-80.

The tank is fitted with unified weapons integrated with the Leopard 2. This includes a stabilized gunner's sight with advanced night and thermal imaging capabilities, allowing for contrast adjustment. The tank also has a less than 10 km laser rangefinder and a supplementary hinged telescopic sight.

The car also has a ballistic calculator for firing 105-mm live ammunition, which can effectively hit Soviet-made tanks of the T-72 type at a distance of 2 km.

Tank armor protects against hits from large-caliber machine guns, automatic guns, and fragments of artillery shells. Still, it will not protect against hits from ATGMs and manual anti-tank grenade launchers. The combat vehicle can cover 450 km with a maximum speed of up to 65 km/h.

According to a report by the German magazine WirtschaftsWoche, as of May 2024, Ukraine possessed approximately 90 Leopard 1 tanks, 30 of which came from Denmark and the remainder from Germany. By the end of summer, they intended to transfer an additional 45 tanks.