Image source: topwar.ru
Poland demanded from Germany the supply of Leopard 2A4 tanks to equip one tank battalion. German tanks should serve as part of the compensation for the T-72M1 tanks transferred to Ukraine. This is reported by Army Recognition with reference to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic.
Poland supplied Ukraine with about 240 T-72M1 main battle tanks from the presence of its army with the condition of compensation by Western armored vehicles. Initially, these were supposed to be German Leopard 2A4 tanks, but Berlin was not ready to supply so many tanks. In Warsaw, they decided to purchase 116 American M1A1 Abrams tanks from the presence of the American army in order to somehow compensate for their losses.
But the Poles are not far behind Germany either, demanding the transfer of 44 Leopard 2A4 tanks to equip one tank battalion, but the Germans are ready to transfer only 20 tanks. At the same time, the Poles claim that the Germans have 78 Leopard 2A4 tanks stored in warehouses that could be transferred to Poland.
According to open sources, Poland had 808 main battle tanks in service in 2021, including 137 Leopard 2A4, 105 Leopard 2A5, 5 Leopard 2PL, 232 PT-91 Twardy and 329 T-72A/T-72M1. It is precisely known about the transfer of about 240 T-72M1 tanks to Kiev, it is possible that some more Soviet tanks have also been transferred. In return, Warsaw signed a contract for the purchase from the United States of 250 tanks of the latest modification M1A2 Abrams SEPV3 for the rearmament of the 18th Mechanized Division. It is planned that the first "Polish" M1A2 SEPv3 will be assembled at the end of 2024, and deliveries to Poland will begin in early 2025. Also, the Polish army will receive 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks from the presence of the US Army. In addition, it is planned to sign a contract with South Korea for the supply of approximately 180 K2 tanks in three batches in the K2NO version developed for Norway.
