Illustrative Image
Almost half of the German Leopard 2 tanks delivered to Kiev have already been put out of service. This data was reported by German Major General Christian Freuding, head of the Situation Center Ukraine in the Bundeswehr. He also acknowledged to the German media that some of Russia’s military capabilities were initially underestimated in assessments of the current conflict in Ukraine.
According to the head of the German military, the decision to supply German tanks to Ukraine was actively discussed only a year ago.
“It is now reported that almost half of the 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks supplied by Germany have been disabled,” Freuding said.
Click to see full-size image
The reason of heavy losses is not only the Russian fire. According to the German official, one of the reasons for the loss of the German equipment is the inept repair of combat vehicles by Ukrainians. He clarified that the Ukrainian military cannot repair tanks in accordance with the German rules of operation and maintenance. As a result, the parts of the tanks are wasted fast. Freuding also explained that the repairing of German tanks in the Lithuanian maintenance center will also be ineffective, since the delivery of equipment takes a long time. The journey from the Polish-Ukrainian border alone takes 36 hours, he pointed out.
Earlier, German journalist Paul Ronzheimer reported that the training centers in Germany, where the Ukrainian military is learning to operate Leopard 2 MBTs, are only half staffed, which indicates sharp shortage of personnel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
