12 nations have pledged to, altogether, supply around 100 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The coalition of nations is formed of both NATO and non-NATO nations, with Poland and Finland providing the bulk of the delivery. All they are waiting for is German approval. The Leopards are manufactured in Germany, and according to German law government permission must be granted for re-export to Ukraine.
The 100 from the coalition falls short of the 300 Western tanks Ukraine is asking for, however, a spokesperson for German arms company Rheinmetall has announced they have the ability to supply Ukraine with 139 Leopard tanks. Their 139 is a mix of 51 Leopard 2’s, and 88 of the older Leopard 1’s.
The deliveries would not be right away. Rheinmetall said 29 of the Leopard 2’s could be delivered by the end of April or May, and the remaining 22 wouldn’t be until the end of 2023, or perhaps even the beginning of 2024. No timeline was given on when the Leopard 1’s could be delivered.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he expects a decision to be made on the tanks soon, though the final decision lies in the hands of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz himself.
