Leopard 1 tanks purchased by an unknown country sent to Ukraine from Belgium – media
Leopard 1 tanks purchased by an unnamed state have been shipped to Ukraine from Belgium.
This was reported by De Standard and Business AM.
The tanks used to be in service with the Belgian army. A few years ago, they were completely decommissioned and sold to OIP Land Systems for €15 thousand per vehicle.
The reason was that the Belgian army leadership decided to decommission all heavy tracked vehicles and replace them with lighter wheeled vehicles.
After a major overhaul, the first tanks were sent to Ukraine on 7 August via Germany and Italy. On the way, the tanks will be equipped with modern weapons systems.
Belgian media outlets note that it is currently unknown which country purchased the Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine. Earlier, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands had announced such intentions.
Belgium, in turn, has not handed over the tanks to Ukraine. Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder argued that they were too expensive to put into operation.
