Polish Soldiers, assigned to the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade operate a Leopard 2 tank during a multinational training scenario in support of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Poland in Bemowo Piskie, Poland, Feb. 6, 2020.(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Hamlin)
On January 11, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that his country will supply Ukraine with German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks, making Warsaw the first of Kiev allies to take such a step.
Kiev has been calling on its allies to provide Western-made tanks, namely Leopard 2s, since the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine last year.
“A company of Leopard [2] tanks will be handed over as part of coalition building,” Duda said during a visit to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. “We want it to be an international coalition.”
A tank company typically includes 10-14 tanks. The Polish military possess around 247 Leopard 2 tanks of different versions.
Just a day earlier, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that his country is considering to supply an undisclosed number of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. However, the transfer must be part of a larger effort by a group of allies. Poland will not likely be able to supply Ukraine with some of its Leopard 2s without the approval of Germany, which has so far refused to transfer such tanks to Kiev forces.
Most of Polish Leopard 2 tanks, around 213, are of the older A4\5 model which were made in the 1980s and 90s. These versions are armed with the highly-capable L/55 120mm Rheinmetall Rh-120 gun. However, they are less armoured then newer versions and equipped with older optics.
The remaining Leopard 2 tanks were upgraded to the 2PL\PLM1 standard, which significantly improves protection and adds a modern Polish-made fire control system.
Poland will likely opt to supply Ukraine with some of its older Leopard 2s in order not to compromise its own military capabilities.
The Polish decision could encourage other countries to supply Ukraine with Western-made tanks. The British government has already confirmed reports about a possible supply of 10-12 Challenger 2s to Kiev forces.
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