Germany approves Leopard 1 delivery to Ukraine, in talks with Qatar over Gepards -newspaper

BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government has approved the delivery of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine from industrial stocks and is in talks over purchasing back 15 Gepard tanks from Qatar to send to Kyiv, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday.

The delivery of the Leopard tanks to Ukraine could happen anytime once the tanks are repaired, the newspaper reported, citing government sources.

Rheinmetall and Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) want to recondition dozens of Leopards 1 tanks and could supply them to Ukraine if Kyiv was willing to buy them, it added.

Several German officials discussed with Qatar’s foreign ministry a possible purchase of 15 Gepard tanks that Doha had bought to secure the World Cup stadiums, the newspaper said, adding that Berlin was trying to get more ammunition from Qatar.

“The Gepards have proven themselves very well in the war in Ukraine. If we could get more from partners here, that would definitely help the Ukrainians,” new German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Marguerita Choy)