The prime minister said in the early hours of Saturday that Portugal would hand over Leopard 2 tanks to the Ukrainian armed forces, adding that a logistical operation is currently underway with Germany to recover some tanks.
The decision of the Portuguese government was communicated to the Lusa office by António Costa at the end of a visit he made to the Portuguese military mission in the Central African Republic, during which he also tried to emphasize that sending tanks to Ukraine will not endanger the national army. equipment capacity.
“We are currently in the process of phasing out some of our tanks. I know how many tanks there will be [enviados para a Ucrânia]but this will be announced in due course,” said the executive leader.
According to the Prime Minister, Portugal is currently working with Germany to “allow a logistics operation to deliver parts, with a view to completing the recovery of some cars [de combate] which were not operational”.
“An operation intended to give Ukraine some tanks, without, of course, losing Portugal’s military capability intact. Of course, Portugal also has obligations in the context of NATO, which we cannot fail to do in terms of availability of equipment for emergency interventions,” he warned.
Asked about the most likely time when these Leopard 2 tanks could be sent to Ukrainian territory, António Costa noted that “the movement that is happening in Europe is in the sense that we can have all these resources at the end of March”.
Regarding the controversy regarding the fact that several of these Leopard 2 tanks, acquired by the National Armed Forces in 2007, have not been serviced for many years, the Prime Minister countered that the phrase “is an exaggeration for many years”.
“Some are not operational and that is precisely why we must work simultaneously with those who produce to ensure the necessary supply chain, with a view to recovering tanks that we currently have unusable and to dispense with operational tanks, which allows us to operate with our own capacity properly secured. It is this logistical operation that is underway,” he justified.
Still talking about the inoperability of some Leopard 2 tanks, António Costa made the following comment: “It’s not just auto parts where there’s a shortage of components.”
“There was also a lack of components for military equipment. This logistics operation is ongoing and we have been working closely with Germany. Their defense,” he added.
With regard to bilateral cooperation with Ukraine, the Prime Minister stressed the sending of war material by Portugal, but also the sending of humanitarian material and humanitarian aid, especially in terms of refugee reception.
“We have also provided emergency support to the Ukrainian budget and programs are underway with the Ukrainian government to rebuild schools in one province.. We also have the effort that resulted from the repositioning of forces within the NATO framework, which resulted in the reinforcement of the eastern flank where Portugal now has a presence in Romania,” he stressed.
António Costa also added that an air police mission would travel to Lithuania in the coming months.
“This situation allows for greater involvement. For example, Romania is going to send troops to participate in the Minusca operation in the Central African Republic. It is not exactly a counterpart, but it also fits within the framework of the cooperation we have developed with Romania”, completed.
Source: DN
