Several Leopard tanks have been shipped to Poland from Ukraine in need of repair, so the opening of the maintenance center cannot be delayed.
The German government has refused to open a Leopard tank maintenance center in Poland for tanks shipped to Ukraine.
According to Handelsblatt (Germany) on July 12, sources familiar with the matter revealed that the reason for this decision was because the Polish side demanded too high a price.
Meanwhile, Ukraine urgently needs a solution to repair Western equipment damaged during Kiev’s counter-attacks.
Earlier, the German newspaper Spiegel also reported that Berlin and Warsaw had not agreed to open a maintenance center in Poland to repair Leopard tanks supplied to Ukraine for a number of similar reasons, while another number of tanks waiting to be repaired.
Instead of Poland, Leopard tanks destined for Ukraine will be repaired in Germany and Lithuania. Channel N-tv, citing an unnamed representative of the German Defense Ministry, said that Leopard 2A5 and Leopard 2A6 tanks will be repaired in Germany and possibly in Lithuania.
Poland and Germany planned to open a Leopard tank repair center worth an estimated 150 million euros on Polish territory at the end of May, but the two countries were unable to reach an agreement, and the problem It’s not just a matter of money.
German tank manufacturers consider the controversy over the tank maintenance center to be politically motivated. For several months now, the government in Warsaw has been waging a campaign against Berlin. Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party has frequently spoken out against the German government.
