Leopard 2 Tank News Today

Lithuania, which borders Russia, is acquiring tanks for the first time ever. A defense official told BI it was motivated by what it saw in Ukraine.

The Leopard 2 tank (MBT) is in active service with numerous NATO members, including nations directly bordering Russia. And nations around Europe are lining up to get more of these tanks. 

Lithuania has repaired a batch of Ukrainian Leopard-2 main battle tanks, which are now being prepared for shipment back to Ukraine, Lithuanian Defense Ministry announced on Dec. 15.

Ukraine has deployed Leopard tanks to fortify its defensive positions in Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts as the counteroffensive concludes for the year.

Europe is not ready for war with an aggressive Russia and risks being “washed away” in a conflict, like how Napoleon dismantled the Holy Roman Empire, warns Germany’s pre-eminent military historian Sönke Neitzel, The Times reported on Nov. 30.

The defense ministers of France and Germany are in disagreement over European defense procurement outside the blocs arms industry. The French advocate for EU industry contracts, while the German emphasizes the need for immediate action and considers non-European options.

Germany has signed agreements with Italy, Spain and Sweden on the development of a successor to the Leopard 2 tank, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday. If confirmed, the deal would be certain to upset France, which, in 2017, agreed with Berlin to develop a joint Franco-German tank to succeed the German Leopard 2 and the French Leclerc in a project beset by delays and disagreements. The initiative is to take place under the leadership of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rhe...

Switzerlands parliamentary security commission of the Council of States (CPS-E) has supported the governments proposal to sell 25 Leopard-2 tanks to Germany, provided for they will not be supplied to Ukraine in the future, the CPS-E told Sputnik on Friday.

Germany pledged Ukraine almost $3 billion worth of military aid in May, but many of the supplies are yet to arrive, Die Welt reported.

Italy has decided to buy German-made Leopard 2 tanks as part of the rearmament of its national armed forces amid the Ukraine conflict, Italian Defense Undersecretary Isabella Rauti said on Thursday.