SHARE
COPY LINK

MILITARY

Denmark says first Leopard 1 tanks have arrived in Ukraine

The first 10 Leopard 1 tanks donated by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands have arrived in Ukraine and more are on their way, Denmark's armed forces said on Friday.

Denmark says first Leopard 1 tanks have arrived in Ukraine
FILE PHOTO: Soldiers sit on a tank at a training site where Ukrainian soldiers undergo maintenance training on Leopard 1A5 tanks at the German army Bundeswehr base. Photo; Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

The three countries announced in February that they would donate 100 of the German-made tanks in the “coming months”.

“The first 10 tanks have been sent to Ukraine. And more are on the way,” the Danish armed forces said in a statement.

“A further 10 tanks have been delivered from the factory.”

Danish troops in Germany are training Ukrainian forces to use the vehicles, the army added.

“I have no doubt that it will help them win the defence battle they are fighting right now,” Army commander Gunner Arpe Nielsen said in the statement.

Denmark’s Leopard 1 A5 tanks were operational in its defence until 2005. In 1997, the country purchased 51 Leopard 2A4 tanks and the older Leopard 1 A5 models were phased out.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

MILITARY

US troops to mount exercise on Danish Baltic island

US troops are planning to take part in a military exercise on the island of Bornholm next month, marking the third time in three years US soldiers have trained on Danish soil.

US troops to mount exercise on Danish Baltic island

Denmark’s defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, revealed the planned exercise, which will take plance between May 1st and May 7th in a briefing to the Danish parliament’s defence committee.

As part of the exercise, US troops will ship an unnamed weapons system to Bornholm Airport, and then set it up in a military exercise area, but would not then fire any shots or missiles. 

“The exercise has a military training aspect, but also sends a signal about the solidarity of the alliance, about American commitment to security in Europe and in our own immediate area,” Lund Poulsen said in the briefing.

US troops took part in similar exercises in 2022 and 2023 on the strategically placed island, which lies 360km away from the Russian and controls access to the western Baltic. 

The US had requested permission to train on Bornholm, which the Danish government then accepted. There is no change in Danish armed forces’ assessment of the threat against Bornholm or Denmark, Lund Poulsen stressed. 

In December, Denmark entered into an agreement with the US, which permits US soldiers and equipment to be kept permanently on Danish soil, with hte US granted access to the Karup, Skrydstrup and Aalborg air bases.

When US troops held a similar exercise on the island in 2022, with a large missile system deployed to the island, the Russian ambassador to Denmark sent an official warning. 

“This can be seen as taking a step towards changing Bornholm from an island of peace to a potential military bridgehead,” Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, told the Danish broadcaster TV2.

SHOW COMMENTS