The characteristics of the Leopard tank, a robust and powerful armored vehicle
A world renowned weapon, with significant military impact in the field. Designed by the German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei and built in series from the end of the 1970s, the Leopard tank combines firepower, mobility and protection.
The main asset of the tank: its ability to roll and shoot at the same time. It is also a fast tank since with its 1500 horsepower, it is capable of reaching 70 km/h at top speed with a range of 450 km. For the attack, it is equipped with a 120 mm caliber smoothbore cannon.
Its heavy armor is also able to withstand mines and rocket launchers. In the German army, the Leopard 2 gradually replaced the American M48 Patton tanks, and then its predecessor the Leopard 1 tank.
Is the delivery of Leopard tanks a turning point in the war?
During his address to the Bundestag at midday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to announce the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. These armored vehicles could then become a major help for kyiv in repelling the Russian army.
On BFMTV this Wednesday morning, Xavier Tytelman, former military aviator and digital editor of Air et Cosmos, believes that these heavy tanks will allow kyiv to “start moving forward again.”
“We have given a lot of weapons to Ukraine, which have proven their effectiveness. The problem is that with the mobilization, the Russians have barricaded themselves, and additional means are needed,” he adds. .
According to him, the impact of the Leopard tanks will depend on the number of devices that kyiv will receive. “Its interest is that it is in several countries. By dint of having ten or fifteen, we will reach 100, 200 tanks with a critical mass which can have an effect on the ground”, concludes Xavier Tytelman.
Two Britons die during ‘humanitarian evacuation’ in Soledar
Left as volunteers in Ukraine, two Britons, Christopher Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 48, were killed while attempting a “medical evacuation” of the city taken over by the Russians in recent weeks.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that our beloved Chrissy was killed alongside her colleague Andrew Bagshaw as they attempted a humanitarian evacuation from Soledar in eastern Ukraine,” it said. the family of Christopher Parry in a statement sent by the British Foreign Office.
In recent days, Soledar is still the scene of intense clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
Moscow denounces a “provocation” in the event of the delivery of German tanks to kyiv
Even before Olaf Scholz spoke, Moscow counterattacked. In a message posted last night on Facebookthe Russian Embassy in the United States transcribed an interview given by Ambassador Anatoli Antonov, who reacted to the possible shipment of armored vehicles to Ukraine.
“If American tanks are sent to Ukraine, then they will be destroyed”, he warned, adding that these deliveries would represent a new “obvious provocation against the Russian Federation”.
“Washington is deliberately trying to inflict a strategic defeat on us.”
“If the United States decided to deliver tanks, then justifying this choice by invoking the argument of ‘defensive weapons’ would not work,” he warns.
For what reasons did the Germans block Leopard deliveries for so long?
For several weeks now, Volodymyr Zelensky has been calling on Western countries to provide him with heavy tanks to deal with the Russian advance. In response, a dozen countries, including Poland, pledged to deliver their Leopard 2 tanks to it at a summit at the American base in Ramstein, Germany.
But Berlin, which produces these armored vehicles, must inevitably give its prior agreement before any transfer of the armored vehicles to a third country. A situation which should be unblocked this Wednesday with the speech of Olaf Scholz in front of the Bundestag.
>> Discover on BFMTV.com the different reasons for the German blockage
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak at midday
His speech is extremely expected after several days of procrastination. Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak this Wednesday at 1 p.m. in front of the German Parliament with, in the key, a possible announcement on the deliveries of heavy Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which is insistently demanding them.
Two German media, the Spiegel and the NTV news channel, assured that the leader would probably give the green light on this occasion to countries – including Poland and Finland – which wish to deliver German-made Leopard 2 tanks to kyiv.
On Tuesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put a little more pressure on Berlin by saying that “discussions must end with decisions”, hammering that “the needs are greater” than “five, ten or fifteen tanks”.
Hello everyone!
Welcome to this live dedicated to the news of the Ukrainian conflict of January 25, 2023.
On this busy day, Germany is expected to take the plunge and allow the delivery of Leopard heavy tanks to Ukraine as on the ground fighting continues to rage in eastern Ukraine.
As far as internal politics are concerned, Volodymyr Zelensky has to deal with a series of resignations by several of his collaborators and senior officials, in the wake of a corruption affair concerning army supplies.