Germany gives green-light to export Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine

Germany has given the green light for the export of Leopard 1 main battle tanks to Ukraine, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told a regular news conference in Berlin on Friday.

The tanks will be sourced from German industry and will come in addition to deliveries of more modern Leopard 2s taken from the country’s military stocks that have already been announced and approved, he said.

Hebestreit declined to give further details on the number of tanks or when they will be handed over.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung earlier reported that officials have granted approval in principle to an application by Rheinmetall AG to supply 88 Leopard 1s or deliver tanks reconditioned by military vehicle maintenance provider Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH.

The Leopard 1, no longer in production, was West Germany’s primary main battle tank in the 1960s and 1970s until it was succeeded by the more lethal Leopard 2. Last month, Germany and its allies pledged to supply Ukraine with more than a hundred Leopard 2s.