The defense minister said on Wednesday the government is still in talks with Germany for the recovery of Leopard 2 tanks, reiterating that “some units” will be sent to Ukraine by the end of March.
Speaking to journalists in Viseu, Helena Carreiras confirmed her intention to send the Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine at the end of March, as the Prime Minister, António Costa, had announced.
“What I can say is not much more, as we are still in talks with Germany on how to develop this work that will allow us to repair many of our tanks and then send some units to Ukraine”said the governor.
On Saturday, António Costa assured Lusa that Portugal would hand over Leopard 2 tanks to Ukrainian forces and added that a logistics operation was underway with Germany to recover some tanks.
“We are currently working to get rid of some of our tanks. I know how many tanks that will be [enviados para a Ucrânia]but this will be announced in due course”said the leader of the executive branch.
According to the Prime Minister, Portugal is 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 neglect in terms of the availability of equipment for interventions in the event of an emergency.” warned.
The Defense Minister is in Viseu this Wednesday to monitor the activities of the General Staff of the Armed Forces “Alista-te por um dia” and “Portugal and Armed Forces”, in the framework of the Armed Forces dispersal program.
Source: DN
