Ukraine’s armed forces are set to receive another critical influx of military equipment from Western allies, including several advanced Leopard 2 tanks.
The continued support comes as Ukraine prepares for intensified conflict along the frontlines, seeking to maintain momentum against Russian forces in the eastern and southern regions of the country.
Russia, meanwhile, has condemned the continued flow of Western military aid to Ukraine, accusing the aid of prolonging the conflict. As reported by Newsweek, Moscow has threatened retaliatory actions against Western aid.
In an email to Newsweek on Friday, referring to the German arms package, Keir Giles, a a senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House said: “Long overdue, and we’re at war nobody should care in the slightest how it is perceived by Russia.”
Germany, the primary supplier of the Leopard 2A6 tanks, has confirmed the dispatch of 18 units in a federal announcement as part of a $1.5 billion arms package, and part of an ongoing NATO commitment to aid Ukraine’s defense efforts.
The Leopard 2 tanks are modern, highly mobile tanks, known for their robust firepower and advanced targeting systems, making them valuable assets for Ukraine’s military operations. The aid will be a boost for Ukraine’s military strength on the battlefield.
As noted in the announcement, Germany provides support for Ukraine by “supplying equipment and weapons, these come from supplies of the Federal Arms Forces and from deliveries from industry financed from the Federal Government’s funds for security capacity building.”
In total, the Federal Republic of Germany “has so far provided or committed for future years military assistance with a value of approximately 28 billion euro.”
Men stand near destroyed Russian military vehicles displayed in Kyiv on September 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Germany and the Netherlands have recently sent a new arms package to Ukraine.
Roman PILIPEY / AFP/Getty Images
“Since the beginning of the Russian armed attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022 Germany has delivered material from Federal Armed Forces stocks amounting to approximately 5.2 billion euro reflecting estimated replacement values.
“Also, more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have received military training in Germany. Expenses for this training so far amount to approximately 282 million euro,” the Federal announcement said.
In addition, The Netherlands said it had ordered “six self-propelled DITA howitzers from the Czech Republic to be sent to Ukraine, as well as an undisclosed number of 152mm artillery shells,” as reported by Kyiv Independent.
According to the report, “the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), which tracks international aid for Ukraine, Germany and the Netherlands [have] allocated 15 billion euros ($16.2 billion) and 6.4 billion euros ($6.9 billion), respectively.”
Newsweek reached out to Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defense via email on Friday for comment.
Alongside the Leopard 2 tanks, current and previous military aid packages from Germany have included other armored fighting vehicles, air defense, artillery, drones and anti-drone systems, military engineering capability equipment, such as mine detectors and clearing systems, as well as protective and other specialist equipment.
The various armored personnel carriers, artillery systems, and precision-guided munitions sent to Ukraine so far have been crucial in the counteroffensive launched earlier this year. The infusion of advanced equipment such as the Leopard 2 tanks by NATO allies is seen as a major boost for Ukraine.
Newsweek contacted representatives for NATO and Ukraine via email on Friday for comment.
The Leopard 2 tanks have been a key component of Western military aid, with several European nations, including Spain, Poland, and Norway, looking to contribute some of their stocks to Ukraine, as previously reported by The Defense Post and The Associated Press.
The tanks, equipped with 120mm smoothbore guns and composite armor, have already seen action in multiple theaters of the war, helping Ukrainian forces regain territory in key areas.
Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the manufacturer of the Leopard 2, touts it as “the world’s leading battle tank” that for nearly a half-century has combined aspects of firepower, protection, speed and maneuverability, making it adaptable to many types of combat situations, as reported by the Associated Press.
As part of Russia’s condemnation of the West’s support of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, previously stated that Moscow “must be ready” to implement its revised nuclear doctrine, according to reports by Russian state-media outlet Tass, raising fears of further escalation in the already intense war.
Newsweek contacted the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday via email for comment.
