Ukrainian Defense Minister announces the receipt of 60 Leopard 2 tanks from the Allies

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov reported on June 1, 2023, that his country had received about 60 Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MBT) from its allies.

“So far we have received about two battalions of 30 tanks each, a total of about 60 units,” Reznikov said.

As stated in the media reports, the countries that announced that they will provide assistance in the form of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine are Denmark, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Germany and Canada.

Regarding the Leopard 2, it is a third generation tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s and officially in service since 1979 in the German Army.

In terms of specifications, the Leopard 2A6 has a combat weight of 62.3 tons, while the 2A7 version has a combat weight of 66.5 tons.

Dimensions are 9.9m long, 3.7m wide and 3m high. The tank is operated by a crew of four, including the driver.

The Leopard carries two Rheinmetall Rh-120 L/44 120 mm or Rh-120 L/55 120 mm main gun, which carries 42 rounds.

The tank’s secondary armament includes two 7.62mm MG3A1 or FN MAG machine guns with 4,750 rounds.

The Leopard 2 is powered by a 1,500 hp MTU MB 873 Ka-501 twin-turbo V12 diesel engine, which can power the tank at speeds of up to 70 km/h with an operating range of about 340 km.