The President of Poland announced that Poland is ready to transfer a company of Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks
about 10 to 14 units to Ukraine, according to a Tweet on January 11, 2023
Poland is negotiating with several countries to build an international alliance to supply the Leopard 2 main battle tank to Ukraine
and must be approved by Germany
There have been predictions that four countries including Poland, Finland, Denmark and Spain
could work together to deliver a total of 56 Leopard 2 tanks.
President Zelensky said that countries need to make a joint decision, because a single country cannot supply the number of tanks that Kiev needs
Poland is operating a total of 137 Leopard 2A4 and 105 Leopard 2A5
The country has also ordered 117 M1A1 Abrams and 25 M1A2 SEPv3 MBTs from the US as well as 180 K2 tanks from South Korea
and possibly up to a total of 1,000 K2 tanks. Most likely the 2A4 variant will be sent to Ukraine
Most likely the 2A4 variant will be sent to Ukraine.
So far, Berlin has been reluctant to send Leopard tanks to the Ukrainian battlefield, despite mounting pressure
However, a Polish government spokesman said international pressure had prompted Germany to increase aid to Ukraine
He also noted that at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
the German government was not ready to provide any weapons to Ukraine, but then it changed its stance
The Leopard 2A4 is the widespread version of the Leopard 2 family, released in the 1980s
Germany purchased 2,125 tanks of this variant, which have either been withdrawn from service or upgraded to newer versions
Most of the stored Leopard 2A4s were leased or sold to other countries, including Spain, Poland, Greece, Finland and Sweden
The 2A4 version is fitted with a three-man turret armed with a 120mm, L44 smoothbore gun operated with the Stabilized Control System
The fire control system enables the MBTs to maintain accuracy even while on the move
Further enhancements include the use of more lethal and versatile kinetic energy and multipurpose ammunition
The tank is powered by a turbocharged diesel engine developing 1,500 hp, for a top road speed of 72km/h and up to 60 km/h in cross-country terrain