On Monday morning, the first Leopard 1 tanks were shipped from Belgian soil to Ukraine, according to Business AM sources. The tanks were in stock at OIP Land Systems in Tournai, where they were restored and sold. The Belgian government reportedly showed no interest at any point.
The tanks were taken out of service several years ago. Under the pressure of additional budget cuts, the military leadership decided to retire all heavy tracked vehicles and replace them with lighter wheeled armored vehicles. The Leopards were also victims of this decision: fifty units have been stored at OIP in Tournai since then.
Read more: Belgian Companies Ask Half a Million Euros For One Leopard 1 In Poor Condition, Which Was Purchased For 15 Thousand
However, the tanks never made it to the list of donations from Belgium to Ukraine. According to Ludivine Dedonder, the Minister of Defense of Belgium, they are too expensive to make operational.
“Efforts were made to refurbish them, but now the company is asking up to 500,000 euros per vehicle. I understand that work isn’t free, but the margin is excessive,” she said.
Experts, however, point out that half a million euros is indeed the market value of these vehicles, which have been in high demand over the past months, especially for donations to Ukraine.
Especially painful is the fact that Belgium sold the tanks to the company for only 15,000 euros each at that time, roughly the price of scrap metal alone. The military lacked sufficient hangars to store the phased-out equipment and ended up selling them at dumping prices.
Read more: The Armed Forces of Ukraine Can Get Leopard 1A5 Tanks Not Only From Germany or Belgium
