Polish Leopard2 tanks on show in Ukraine
Poland has delivered its first Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the country's president and its defence minister told a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday.
Officials did not give details on the number of tanks delivered to Ukraine at this stage, but Poland has earlier pledged that a company of Leopard tanks would be handed to Ukraine as part of coalition building.
"The prime minister couldn't be here, he went to Kyiv to bring Leopard tanks, which are the first batch delivered to Ukraine," President Andrzej Duda said in his opening remarks at the security meeting in Warsaw.
Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak later said the tanks had already reached Ukraine.
Warsaw's commitment has been instrumental in convincing European allies to donate heavy gear to Ukraine, including tanks, a move opposed by several capitals, including Berlin, until recently.
The first delivery comes less than a month after Poland said it aimed to get training time on Leopard 2 tanks down to five weeks for Ukrainian soldiers.
Reuters
