At the moment, Portugal has 37 Leopard 2 tanks in service, but only 12 of them are operational.
Portugal can send a third of its Leopard 2 tank “workers” to Ukraine against the background of Germany’s permission to re-export German combat vehicles from third countries.
According to the local newspaper Correio da Manhã, a source close to the Portuguese government reported that Lisbon may send four Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The informant says that the Portuguese army has 37 Leopard 2 tanks in service, but only 12 of them are fully operational.
The newspaper writes that in this way the Portuguese army can give a third of its Leopard 2 tank “workers” to the Armed Forces.
Delivery of Leopard 2 to Ukraine is the latest initiative
On January 25, 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to transfer 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
On January 24, the Polish Ministry of Defense announced that it had requested the German government to re-export Leopard 2 tanks from third countries. As Bloomberg wrote, Warsaw can supply Kyiv with no less than a “company” of tanks.
Against the background of such news, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Melnyk appealed to the government of Germany and called on Berlin to support Kyiv with warships and submarines.
