Nearly half of Germany’s 18 Leopard 2 tanks fallen into disrepair due to inept replacement of parts, Suddedeutsche Zeitung reports.
General Christian Freuding told Suddeutsche Zeitung that Ukraine is out of capabilities to repair the tanks in accordance with German operating and maintenance rules, which subsequently leads to increased wear and tear of parts and longer downtime.
Freuding also highlighted the inconvenience of the Lithuanian maintenance centre, as the journey from the Polish-Ukrainian border to the centre would take 36 hours. These problems significantly hinder the operational recovery of tanks and the maintenance of their combat readiness.
In order to address these difficulties, Germany is actively engaged in discussions with the Ukrainian industry on the possibility of conducting factory repairs in Ukraine to address the maintenance and readiness issues of the Leopard-2 tank.
Leopard-2 tanks are supplied to Ukraine not only from Germany, but also from many European countries. Half of these tanks have been lost, and some of them are not used for their intended purpose at all, which leads to doubts about further support.
