The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA), Admiral Silva Ribeiro, indicated on Friday that Portugal has 37 Leopard tanks, but declined to comment on how many could be sent to Ukraine.
“On the Leopard we have 37,” Silva Ribeiro said at a joint press conference as part of NATO’s Military Committee Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer’s visit to Portugal.
The CEMGFA was also asked how many of these vehicles could eventually be included in the aid package for Ukraine, but indicated that it was unable to “comment on this matter” and referred to the communiqué released this afternoon by the Ministry of National Defense .
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said several European countries, including Portugal, are available to supply Western war tanks such as the “Leopard 2,” which would require permission from Germany.
This afternoon, after a meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, which took place in Ramstein, Germany, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement that Portugal is sending an additional 14 M113 armored vehicles and eight large-capacity electric generators to Ukraine, thereby ” the total amount of military equipment, lethal and non-lethal, delivered to the country is 532 tons.
With regard to sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, the ministry indicates that at the meeting in Ramstein “Portugal participated in a meeting convened by Ukraine and Poland, where the countries that have these resources were present”.
“At that meeting, the Minister of National Defense reiterated the offer of training in this type of combat vehicles and expressed the availability of the Portuguese government, in consultation with its partners, to find ways to support Ukraine with this capability”says the ministry.
Also questioned about the advanced news in the newspaper Público that the six Kamov helicopters offered by Portugal to Ukraine in October have not yet been requested by that country, Admiral Silva Ribeiro indicated that these “talks are taking place at the political level”, and refused to do more comments.
Source: DN
