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Germany announces swap deal with Greece for tanks to Ukraine

First Leopard 1 tanks arrive in Ukraine: Denmark
Source: Pixabay

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday he had agreed a deal with Greece that would see Athens send Soviet-era military vehicles to Ukraine in exchange for more modern armour from Berlin.

“We will provide German armoured personnel carriers,” Scholz said after an EU summit in Brussels.

Germany has already struck similar agreements to help supply weaponry to Ukraine with the Czech Republic and is currently negotiating one with Poland.

The goal is to supply Ukraine with vitally needed weapons from old Soviet-era stocks that it can quickly put into battle as it tries to halt Russia’s invasion.

Germany wants to deliver 14 Leopard battle tanks and one Leopard armoured vehicle to Prague in exchange for the Czechs sending T-72 tanks to Ukraine.

However, no date has yet been set for the delivery.

A planned swap with Poland that was meant to see Warsaw receive modern substitutes for equipment sent to Ukraine has also yet to materialise.

Polish President Andrzej Duda has accused Berlin of not keeping its promises over the hardware.

The German government has faced criticism from Kyiv and domestic opponents for being too slow at sending weapons to Ukraine.

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AFP

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.







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