Germany to supply 50 Leopard 1 tanks, 60 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine

Germany is supplying up to 50 Leopard 1 tanks and at least 60 Marder-type armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine to arm its soldiers to counter the incoming Russian assault inside the Ukrainian territories. German manufacturer of military equipment, Rheinmetall will supply Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukrainian Armed Forces by the end of 2022, Berlin’s newspaper Bild reported. Marder vehicles of the German infantry are operated by the German Army. They are the main weapon of the Panzergrenadiere (mechanized infantry) since the 1970s in Berlin. 

“The sealed hull is welded from the different kinds of up 30 mm thick armor-clad sheets, capable of protecting the front from 20 mm and 25 mm bullets from a distance of 200 m, and from the sides – from shrapnel, small 7.62 mm arms,” Blid reports. 

Initially, the defence equipment manufacturing firm proposed to the German government a scheme through which the Marder infantry fighting vehicles could have been immediately delivered over to Ukrainian forces. But this would mean that the vehicles would have to be shipped from the available supplies of the German Armed Forces. The proposal was rejected by the German Defense Ministry. Bundeswehr even made an offer to be compensated for the lost amount with new samples. Rheinmetall had also asked to purchase the 4 million units of ammunition for the BMP from the German Defense Ministry but there was alleged “no response” from the German government. 

Germany says it reached a 'limit' to supplying arms to Ukraine 

Germany has reached limits and has exhausted its ability to supply weapons to Ukraine from its army reserves, but is coordinating with the arms industry for the deliveries, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht had told the state press. 

“For deliveries coming from the Bundeswehr’s stocks, I have to say honestly that we have reached a limit,” she told German daily Augsburger Allgemeine. The German army must maintain its capacity to act and be able to “guarantee the defence of the country and the (NATO) alliance”, she added.  “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do more for Ukraine, that’s why we have clarified what the industry can provide directly” to Kyiv, Lambrecht said.  Berlin is “continuously consulting with Ukraine on this subject”. As Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Germany had been reluctant due to "historical reasons from WWII" to send weapons to Ukraine.