The Bundestag deputy pointed out the breakdown of most of the Leopard 2 tanks transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces

 Ukrainian military personnel use only a small number of Leopard 2 tanks of the modern A6 modification supplied by Germany, since independent attempts by Ukrainians to repair them end in even greater breakdowns, in addition, their repairs take a long time or require spare parts that are in short supply. Sebastian Schäfer, member of the Bundestag from the Green faction and member of the parliamentary budget committee, announced this on January 2.

“Unfortunately, we have to admit that only a very small number of delivered tanks [Leopard 2A6] can still be used by Ukraine,” the DPA agency quoted the politician’s letter, which was sent to the German defense concerns Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

Schaefer emphasized that one of the problems is the lack of necessary spare parts in the so-called Leopard 2 repair hub created in Lithuania, which ultimately takes too much time. In the letter, he called on German concerns to improve the situation with the supply of parts as quickly as possible.

At the same time, the politician noted that attempts by the Ukrainian military to independently repair Leopard 2 tanks often ended in the appearance of even more defects in combat vehicles.

“It should be explored whether this can be addressed by improving mechanic training or instruction,” Schaefer concluded.

Earlier that day, the  Russian Ministry of Defense published footage of Russian troops destroying a platoon of Leopard 2A6 tanks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Svatovsk direction.

On December 27, the general director of the Rostec state corporation , Sergei Chemezov, said that the Russian anti-tank missile systems (ATGM) “Chrysanthemum” and “Kornet” can penetrate the German Leopard from any direction. In addition, he noted that Western tanks began to install additional Soviet-era dynamic protection, thus hoping to increase the chances of survival during the battle.

Earlier, on November 13, military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin said that Western countries largely protect Leopard 2 tanks precisely because they are on fire in Ukraine. He noted that the West does not want to lose the authority of advertised weapons by sending them to Ukraine.

Before this, on November 10, Forbes also wrote that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not learned how to properly use German Leopard tanks, so they may soon lose all of them, since Russia is successfully defeating them.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of a worsening situation in the region.