Belgium’s second-hand Leopard 1 tanks to be sent to Ukraine

Europe, News August 10, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

A Belgian arms trader claimed that he made a deal with a “major” European country to send dozens of Belgium’s second-hand Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine to support the country’s forces fighting Russia’s invasion.

CEO of a private European defense firm and arms trader OIP Land Systems, Freddy Versluys said on August 8, 2023, that his firm has facilitated a deal that would allow Belgium’s second-hand Leopard 1 tanks to be sent to Ukraine. Under the deal, OIP Land Systems would sell 50 second-hand Leopard 1 tanks to be deployed in Ukraine.

Without disclosing the worth of the deal or price for each tank, Versluys said that it could take up to six months for the tanks to be ready for the battlefield in Ukraine. Versluys told Reuters that he had sold all 50 Leopard 1 tanks from his inventory to “another European government,” which he could not name due to a confidentiality clause.

Versluys bought 50 Leopard 1 tanks from the Belgian government in 2014 at the price of $40,000 each. However, he did not disclose the price he was paid for the Leopard 1 tanks by the European country.

Belgium sold its aging fleet of German-made Leopard 1 tanks to a private arms trader after retiring them from service. The deal resurfaced this year when the Belgian defense ministry tried to buy the tanks back and send them to Ukraine. However, the deal could not be reached as the Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder accused the firm of trying to make a “huge profit” from the sale. Versluys at the time denied that the Belgian government had approached him.

^{Ukrainian soldiers on a Leopard 1A5 tank, at the German army Bundeswehr base, part of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine in Klietz, Germany, on May 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)}

Several arms and weapons that had been discarded as obsolete by many Western governments are now in high demand due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Most of these weapons are owned by private firms and arms dealers who are making huge profits due to scarcity in supply and increasing demand.

Tanks in Ukraine’s counteroffensive

Tanks and armored vehicles are playing a vital role as Ukrainian forces are pushing harder to conduct their counteroffensive operation against the Russian military in the captured lands. German-made Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks have proved to be the backbone of Ukraine’s counteroffensive due to their terrain-specific capabilities and interoperability with Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine’s NATO allies and other Western partners are arranging for Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks to send to Ukraine. There are around 2,000 Leopard 2 tanks stocked across over a dozen European countries that can be sent to Ukraine while the stocks for Leopard 1 tanks are even more scarce. Since the tanks are German-made, other countries or private companies willing to send them to Ukraine require the German government’s approval.

Germany has announced that it would not stop its European allies from sending German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine for its war efforts against Russia. After weeks of sustaining intense pressure from its allies and partners, Germany also announced that it would approve the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as part of a coalition of European countries.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Biden also announced the decision to send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. However, the U.S. officials have been urging European allies to send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine, since they are abundant across Europe and easier for the Ukrainians to use and maintain than the Abrams.