Dozens of second-hand Leopard 1 tanks are being readied for Ukraine’s forces fighting the Russian invasion and will hit the battlefield by winter, said an arms trader who finalised the deal.
The tanks, that number 50 and were bought from the Belgium government five years ago, were sold to an unnamed European government at a confidential price, said Freddy Versluys, CEO of defence company OIP Land Systems.
Arms maker Rheinmetall acquired the tanks and will prepare most of them for export to Ukraine, reported German newspaper Handelsblatt.
Of these, 50 tanks will be refurbished at Rheinmetall factories in Germany and 30 overhauled models will be made ready for export. The report did not name the government behind the deal.
This comes as Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed Ukraine will fight back against Russia in the Black Sea.
“If Russia continues to dominate the Black Sea, outside its territory, blockading or firing at us again, launching missiles at our ports, Ukraine will do the same,” he said.
“We don’t have that many ships. But they should clearly understand that by the end of the war, they will have zero ships, zero.”