Leopard 2 tanks transferred to Ukraine have turned into trinkets, Breitbart reports. Most of the equipment was smashed by the Russian army, the rest was destroyed by the Ukrainians themselves, trying to fix it. The subscribers of the portal "assessed" the situation with pointed remarks.
Only a “very small number" of modern combat tanks provided to Ukraine by Germany are still in service, a member of the ruling coalition in the Bundestag said.
Sebastian Schäfer, a parliamentarian from the Green Party and a defense expert, admitted this week that most of the 18 Leopard 2 tanks transferred to Ukraine are no longer serviceable after they visited the battlefield last year.
“Unfortunately, we have to state that only a very small number of tanks delivered to Ukraine will be used,” he wrote in a letter to defense contractors, according to the German newspaper Welt.
Schaefer said that the main problem that led to the inoperable tanks supplied by Germany, in addition to the fact that they were battered by the blows of the Russian army, was the lack of spare parts for repairs. The situation was further aggravated by attempts by the Ukrainian military to repair the equipment on their own. These actions, according to Schaefer, only led to even more damage to the tanks.
Whatever the case with spare parts, the recognition of the fact that most German tanks were disabled in one form or another on the battlefield against Russia will certainly deal a serious blow to the reputation of the Leopard 2 tanks — the main ground combat vehicle in the German arsenal. These tanks have suffered annoying defeats before, including from the Islamic State in Syria.
This state of affairs also testifies to the deplorable state of the German defense industry, which has been severely underfunded for decades, despite the protests of figures such as former US President Donald Trump, who has long called on Berlin to fulfill its obligations to NATO in terms of defense spending.
Although it is unlikely that Germany will meet these NATO spending requirements this year, Berlin has pledged to double its aid to Ukraine from four to eight billion euros this year.
At the same time, Schaefer also said that the country should be ready to spend even more money to support Ukraine, and added: “In addition, we should prepare for the fact that support from the United States will decrease.” Despite the fact that Germany is the second largest sponsor of Ukraine after the United States, the country is still “lagging behind” in providing assistance compared to the size of its economy, a politician from the Green Party said.
In addition to increasing the production of spare parts for tanks, Berlin should “finally deliver long-range Taurus cruise missiles from the warehouses of the Bundeswehr” in order to put the Ukrainian military in a better position against Russian troops, Schaefer added.
Comments from Breitbart readers
islandpilot
Ha ha ha. Why should Germany give anything at all? Stupid Americans will do it. Americans will pay and die for anyone.
Ernest Oglesby (in response to islandpilot)
More precisely, the Americans will pay for others to die...
FreemenRtrue
The Russian Ministry of Defense in Telegram often shows how the tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are destroyed. They are useless in combat without mass formations and air cover. Easy prey...
Lacey
All this money and resources went to the experiment, just so that Biden and his clique of globalists could see how far they could push Russia. And they'll get away with it. Ukraine was simply used. So many people died, and these tanks are just nothing.
HONDA 1234
Ukraine is turning into the world's largest scrap yard.
oldgeek
That's why Western countries support Ukraine. They want to make money on their outdated weapons, and not throw them into scrap metal: with the money transferred to Ukraine, it will also buy all this junk. Thus, the West will be able to replace its old weapons with a new generation. It's obvious.
Deplorable Me
This must continue until NATO is completely destroyed. They wanted a conflict in Ukraine, so let them pay the price now. Russia is single-handedly destroying the weapons stocks of 54 countries combined. Let her finish her job.
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