Portuguese Leopard tanks in Germany to be delivered to Ukraine this month

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Portugal’s defense minister announced Wednesday that three Leopard tanks in Portugal and 18 in Germany will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of the month.

“The three Leopard 2A6 tanks that we will send to Ukraine are now in Germany. They are in good, operative condition but are being adjusted. Then, they will be delivered alongside the 18 German battle tanks by the end of the month,” Helena Carreiras told reporters before entering the EU Defense Minister’s meeting in Stockholm.

After facing pressure from several countries, Germany first gave the green light to allies to deliver Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine on Jan. 25.

By mid-February, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz chided European allies for their lack of progress on delivery. “We are striving to ensure that many others who have come forward in the past now follow up on this finger-pointing with practical action,” she told reporters in Brussels in mid-February.

So far, of the EU countries, only Poland has just delivered its first tranche of four Leopard tanks to Kyiv.

Other allies like Spain have committed to sending up to 10 tanks, but the mothballed tanks on offer are old and damaged. In late February, Spain’s defense minister said six Leopard 2 A4s were being “fixed up” and said the first tranche could be delivered this spring.

Sweden and Norway have also committed to sending tanks at some point.

Meanwhile, Portugal’s defense minister said Wednesday’s EU defense meeting will focus on Ukraine.

“We will examine what’s happening on the ground and discuss how we can support Ukraine better and faster, particularly in terms of ammunition,” said Carreiras.

Portugal has already sent more than a dozen armored vehicles and hundreds of tons of military material like drones, ammo and weapons to the Ukrainian army.