Germany has handed over a new military aid package to Ukraine. The package includes ten Leopard 1A5 tanks as well as contains 1,305 155mm projectiles, some 2,064 155mm smoke ammunition, a bridge system, 20 MG3 machine guns for tanks and armored vehicles.
The shipment also included four vehicles for border guards, ten ground-based radar stations, as well as 16 Zetros trucks, 80 RQ-35 Heidrun reconnaissance drones, and an additional 100,000 individual tactical first-aid kits.
Read more: Just Drive Around the Minefields: What German Instructors Trained Ukrainians on Leopard 2
The Leopard 1A5 tanks have become the first batch to arrive in Ukraine after lengthy negotiations. The initial reports about these tanks surfaced in April 2022 when Rheinmetall announced their readiness to send 50 tanks to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The company had planned to deliver the first tanks within six weeks, but the actual transfer took place over 14 months.
During this period, Berlin significantly changed its position regarding arms supplies to Ukraine, providing Ukraine with Leopard 2A6 tanks. Germany also rose to prominent positions in the ranking of European countries supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces with weaponry.
Within this timeframe, the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine has undergone significant changes. The attitude towards any weaponry, including armored vehicles, provided by partner countries, has also changed.
It is worth noting that Germany plans to supply more Leopard 1 tanks than the Leopard 2 to Ukraine. Ukraine is expected to receive approximately 90 Leopard 2 tanks by early 2024.
Regarding the Leopard 1, there are known to be 88 tanks in Rheinmetall's reserves and 99 in Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft's reserves, making a total of 187 tanks.
Defense Express reported earlier, that the Minister of Defense of Ukraine announced the arrival of dozens of the Leopard tanks from the Bundeswehr.
Read more: Commander of Ukrainian Ground Forces Characterized Situation Around Bakhmut, in Lyman Direction
