Ottawa confirms sending four Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, more may follow

BET À DAY

Defense Minister Anita Anand has confirmed that 4 Leopard 2 assault tanks will be sent to Ukraine “in the coming weeks”, but that “this number could increase” depending on the situation. evolution of war.

The Canadian army has 82 Leopard 2 tanks, which come in three different variants, the minister explained during a press scrum in Parliament on Thursday.

“The army also has 30 engineer vehicles and recovery to ensure the mobility of the fleet of combat vehicles”, she continued.

Ms. Anand assured that Canada will provide support to Ukraine “in the short and the long term with the military aid necessary to win this war”.

For Chief of Staff Wayne Eyre, the Leopard 2 that Poland and Germany will also provide is “much better” than the tank used by the Russian army, the T-72.

According to him, “Russia will use any excuse to launch new attacks. They will stick to any piece of credibility they can find.”

“If they want de-escalation, they can leave Ukraine,” added the top brass. Canadian Army, alongside the Minister.

The move comes after a similar announcement from Germany and the United States, which reached an agreement after dithering for a few weeks.

The plan, unveiled on Wednesday, calls for sending more 100 tanks to Ukraine, including 31 M1 Abrams purchased by the United States and 62 Leopard 2s from European Union countries.

Canada recently announced the shipment of 200 vehicles which should arrive before the summer as well as a state-of-the-art NASAMS air defense system. These two shipments are just over $500 million.

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