Poland says it is already training Ukrainians to drive the Leopard 2

The Polish Minister of Defence, Mariusz Blaszczak, said that Poland has already started training Ukrainian soldiers on Polish soil to drive the Leopard 2 tanks that several countries have announced that they will deliver to the Ukrainian army.

At the moment it is not possible to specify how long this training will last, but the Polish Minister of Defense clarified that “it is not a question of days or months, but of weeks”.

Mariusz Blaszczak also informed the Ukrainian authorities that the mode of delivery of these German-made combat vehicles will be discussed at a UN meeting scheduled for mid-February.

According to information advanced by the press, the tanks would be delivered without the necessary training of the soldiers, according to the Polish news website TVP, quoting the German magazine “Der Spiegel”.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexii Resnikov and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have already personally expressed their gratitude to Blaszczak, according to international agencies.

The Prime Minister, António Costa, assured, this Saturday, that Portugal will also cede Leopard 2 tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and added that a logistical operation with Germany is currently underway to recover some tanks.

The Russian military offensive in Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).