Spain plans to send 40 mothballed Leopard A4 tanks to Ukraine bought from Germany in 1995, El Pais revealed, citing government sources.
The tanks are among 108 second-hand Leopards “hibernating” at an army logistics base in Zaragoza for a decade, the Spanish outlet wrote. It added that recovering them would be challenging during the rainy season.
The Spanish government has also offered to train Ukrainian soldiers to operate the tanks in Latvia, where a Spanish military contingent of 500 troops with six Leopard 2E tanks is stationed as part of NATO’s Enhanced Advance Presence. Ukrainian soldiers will be trained on Spanish territory in the second phase, according to the plan.
Shorad Anti-Aircraft Missile Being Sent
Additionally, the Spanish government is finalizing the delivery of a battery of Shorad Aspide anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, which has been replaced by a more advanced model.
The Spanish government is negotiating the delivery of the Shorad through an international military aid coordination mechanism in Stuttgart to “avoid lack of equipment and duplication of others” for Ukraine, El Pais wrote.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez offered the plan to Ukrainian President Volodímir Zelenski during his Kyiv visit on April 21, the outlet wrote, adding that the “complexity of the operation” delayed its execution.
If it goes through, the offer would raise the level of Spanish military aid to Ukraine, thus far restricted to “ammunition, individual protection equipment and light weapons (C-90 grenade launchers or machine guns).”