Canada will join in the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine

The Canadian Armed Forces are considering the possibility of transferring Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

The exact number of equipment that the country could transfer is currently being studied, the Ottawa Citizen reports, citing sources in the country’s defense department.

The implementation of plans to transfer tanks started after Germany let go of concerns about the supply of Leopard 2 to Ukraine.

NATO countries are coordinating actions among themselves, determining the specific number of tanks that each country can provide.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Wednesday that “I won’t be making an announcement today” about Canada’s donation of tanks.

However, he suggested it could happen in the near future.

“As you well know, Canada always tries to do everything possible to help Ukraine,” he told reporters. “We hope to have something to share in the coming days,” Trudeau added.

The article noted that the Canadian Armed Forces have 112 Leopard 2 tanks of various modifications at their disposal. Some of them are intended for training, others are allocated to the combat units.

Sources in the country’s Department of National Defence shared that Canada hopes to provide at least 10 Leopard 2 tanks.

According to the Canadian media, the Royal Canadian Air Force can, if necessary, use its C-17 transport planes to move tanks to Poland. From there, the armored vehicles could be shipped to Ukraine.

As previously reported, on January 25, the German government allowed the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and agreed to the re-export of these tanks from other countries, which also transfer them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In the first stage, Germany will provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from the Bundeswehr stockpiles. Training of the Ukrainian military will start soon.