Madrid (EFE).- The Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, explained this Wednesday in the Plenary Session of Congress the Government’s decision to send to Ukraine a first batch of six Leopard battle tanks, foreseeably at the end of this week, to which Four more will be added later.
Robles’ appearance occurs at the request of EH Bildu and ERC, who consider that sending the tanks is a decision of “enormous importance” due to the implications it may have in the escalation of the conflict and occurs without having previously debated and voted in the Congress of Deputies.
The ten Leopards that Spain will donate to Ukraine are of the 2A4 model and are part of the more than fifty that have been out of use for a decade and stored at Army facilities in Casetas (Zaragoza).
Date of shipment of the first six Leopard
The head of Defense could take advantage of the plenary session to announce the exact date of shipment of the first six Leopards, once they have practically been set up.
These cars arrived a month and a half ago at the Santa Bárbara Sistemas factory in Alcalá de Guadaira (Seville) to be repaired.
There, Robles announced that they will be ready to be shipped at the end of this week after they have undergone some final live shooting tests in Córdoba.
Once the repair of this first batch of six Leopards has been completed, the Santa Bárbara Sistemas factory will house another four tanks “within the commitment” that Spain has assumed, along with other allied countries, to help Ukraine, according to the minister. .
The Ministry of Defense budgeted 4.1 million euros for the development of the Leopard, as stated in the bidding contract, an amount that includes updating all ten.