(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) – Ukraine has been forced to reject the “donation” of 10 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks because the tanks are in a state of disrepair, and Kiev lacks the expertise to repair them.
According to the German media outlet “Spiegel,” Ukraine has informed Germany that the recently delivered Leopard tanks require extensive repairs.
Following this, Germany sent experts to Kiev to closely examine the issue and found that the tanks were indeed worn out and damaged because they were used for training Ukrainian personnel in their operation.
The training for Ukrainian military personnel to operate Leopard tanks took place in Germany.
In July, a similar issue arose when Germany sent 10 aging Leopard 1 main battle tanks, facing various issues, to Ukraine for use against Russian forces.
The German Ministry of Defense declined to comment on specific cases but stated that these tanks would be refurbished in cooperation with Ukraine.
The Leopard 1 main battle tank was first developed in the 1950s and entered service with the German military in 1965.
Earlier this year, Germany, along with Denmark and the Netherlands, announced their intention to “donate” approximately 100 aging Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. Denmark and the Netherlands were also reported to agree to purchase 14 newer Leopard 2 main battle tanks from the manufacturer Rheinmetall to donate to Ukraine.
In July, European media outlets reported that weapons supplied by Western countries to Ukraine were “too worn out” for use on the battlefield. This information was based on Ukrainian government documents cited by the media.
Due to being “too worn out” for combat use, Ukraine has been using these donated weapons primarily as a source of spare parts.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of the previous year, Western countries have provided various types of weapons worth billions of dollars to Eastern Europe.
Many of these weapon donations from Western countries include modern weapons such as air defense systems to counter Russian aircraft, drones, and guided projectiles.
However, there have also been cases where the donated weapons came from donor countries’ surplus stockpiles, requiring extensive and costly refurbishment.
Analysts have stated that approximately 30 percent of the weapons currently used by the Ukrainian military require significant maintenance, a high percentage for a country engaged in a defensive conflict.
One case involved the delivery of 33 self-propelled howitzers as a donation from the Italian government to Ukraine, where it was discovered that some of these howitzers had critical issues.
The Italian Ministry of Defense stated that these howitzers had been retired from service several years ago but Ukraine still wanted them.
“The Ukrainian government wants these howitzers to be repaired and sent to the battlefield to face the Russian military,” according to the Italian Ministry of Defense.
Meanwhile, a report from the U.S. Department of Defense revealed that the U.S. Army had been asked to send 29 HUMVEES from a base in Kuwait to Ukraine.
The U.S. Army unit stated that only one of the 29 vehicles was not usable. However, an inspection conducted by the Department of Defense found that 26 out of the 29 vehicles were too worn out for use in the Ukrainian battlefield.
The same U.S. Army unit was also tasked with sending six M777 howitzers to Ukraine just a few weeks after the conflict between Eastern European countries and Russia erupted.
Subsequent inspections found that the howitzers required extensive maintenance and refurbishment, as they had not been used for 19 months. The report also stated that one of the howitzers was so worn out that it could pose a risk to operators if used.
In January of the previous year, UK Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace announced plans to transfer AS-90 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, but in March, the UK Ministry of Defense stated that 12 of these howitzers needed repair or could only be used as spare parts. – DSA
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