Spanish tanks readied for shipment to Ukraine

Six Leopard 2A4 battle tanks of the Spanish Army will be sent to Ukraine in about two weeks once they have been refurbished at the headquarters of the company Santa Bárbara Sistemas (a subsidiary of the American company General Dynamics) in Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville.

The tanks, which had been lying disused for a decade, are this week undergoing firing exercises at the Cerro Muriano army range in Cordoba, the last test before being transferred by sea to Poland, where they will be handed over to the Ukrainian authorities. Another four units will arrive in Santa Bárbara in the next few days to undergo a final revision.

The tanks, which had been mothballed at the Casetas depot in Zaragoza, are being made fully operational at a cost of some 683,000 euros per unit.

The move comes after more than 850 Ukrainian military personnel have been trained in Spain, including, last month, the training of 55 Ukrainian tank drivers at the National Training Centre of San Gregorio in Zaragoza.

The Ministry of Defence has also committed to supplying 20 TOA M-113 armoured infantry transporters, in addition to a consignment of 20 already delivered.