German Defense Company Rheinmetall Unable to Supply Leopard Tanks to Kiev in 2023, CEO Says

BERLIN (Sputnik) - German defense company Rheinmetall has 22 Leopard 2 tanks and 88 Leopard 1 tanks, but it would take about a year to prepare them for shipment to Ukraine, CEO Armin Papperger said on Sunday.

"We still have 22 Leopard 2 units that we could put into operation and deliver to Ukraine. As for Leopard 1, we have about 88 of them. But we cannot repair these tanks without a contract, because the costs amount to several hundred million euros. Rheinmetall cannot offer preliminary financing to this," Papperger told German media.

Leopard tanks need about one year to be prepared to be shipped and put into operation, the businessman said.

"The vehicles are not only repainted but also rebuilt for usage during wartime. They are completely disassembled and then reassembled. This means that even if a decision is made tomorrow that we can send our Leopard tanks to Kiev, the delivery will take place no sooner than the beginning of next year," Rheinmetall's chief said.

Earlier in the month, media reported that France and Poland were pushing Germany to equip Kiev with its powerful Leopard 2 tanks.

On January 9, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that Germany did not intend to supply Ukraine with its Leopard tanks. Later in the day, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany remains true to its original position and will not take unilateral actions on supplies of arms, including Leopard 2 battle tanks, to Ukraine, without the approval of its NATO allies.