Spain to send 6 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Kiev in upcoming days: FM
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Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says that Spain will send 6 of the 10 promised Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine in the upcoming days.
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Troops of the Spanish Armed Forces train Ukrainian military personnel on the operation and maintenance of Leopard tanks, at San Gregorio Training Center, Zaragoza, Spain,13 March 2023 (Reuters)
Spanish Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albares, announced that the country will be supplying Kiev with 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks.
The country is set to send 6 of the tanks in the upcoming days with the rest to follow at a later time.
Albares told German media group Funke on Saturday that Spain "will support Ukraine as long as it needs."
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez previously promised the tanks to the Ukrainian side in a visit he made to Kiev in February.
Following his visit, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed earlier in April that the Spanish government will send 6 Leopard 2 tanks later this month.
She added that the army will be preparing 4 other tanks for combat which will later be sent to Kiev when ready.
German news agency Der Spiegel reported on Monday that Ukraine received 18 German Leopard 2 tanks from Berlin.
Western countries continue to funnel their best technologies to aid Zelensky's government's survival after the Russian Special Operation commenced in February 2022. They have previously supplied the country with air defense misle, multiple launch rocket systems, depleted uranium ammunition, and state-of-the-art armored vehicles. This has only prolonged the crisis in Ukraine as the Western powers push for confrontation and refuse to engage in peace talks with Russia.
On the other hand, China has proposed a 12-point paper for a peaceful settlement of the dispute in Ukraine, taking into consideration the concerns and interests of both sides.
Furthermore, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva angered Western powers when he took a neutral stance on the conflict and suggested during his China visit that the US and EU need "to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace."
Read more: Angering West over Ukraine stance, Brazil's Lula welcomed in Portugal.
