© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The German army Leopard 2 battle tank returns after the Enhanced NATO exercise of Forward Presence Battle Group Lithuania at the military training ground in Pabrade, Lithuania, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ints kalnins
BERLIN (Reuters) – German arms maker Rheinmetall could only deliver repaired Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine by 2024 at the earliest, its chief executive told the Bild newspaper on Sunday.
Germany announced earlier this month that it would provide Ukraine with Marder infantry fighting vehicles to help repel Russian forces. But Kyiv also requested heavier vehicles like Leopards, which would represent a significant advance in Western support for Ukraine.
Repairing the tanks it has in stock would cost several hundred million euros and the company was unable to start doing so before the order was confirmed, Papperger told Bild.
“Vehicles must be completely dismantled and rebuilt,” he added.
Germany has become one of Ukraine’s main military supporters in response to Russia’s invasion after last year, overcoming a taboo embedded in its bloody 20th-century history on sending weapons to conflict zones.
Still, critics say German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his SPD ruler are too slow, waiting for the allies to act first instead of taking responsibility for Germany as Ukraine’s closest Western power.
Finance Minister Robert Habeck said earlier this month delivery of the heavier Leopard tanks could not be “ruled out”.
