As part of the mad dash to send military equipment to Ukraine, it has been reported that 12 out of the 20 tanks offered by Denmark were not functional. According to Denmark’s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, ten of the tanks arrived in Ukraine, only to need repairs before being operational. The other 10 remain in Poland, including 2 with “serious defects.”
Much of this is due to the fact that the Leopard 1A5 tanks promised to Kiev had been decommissioned in the 1990’s, but given the desperation to “weaken Russia” and the inability of the post-industrial economies of Europe to mobilize effectively, Denmark offered old tanks that required refurbishment before they would be usable. According to Forbes, their stocks were so poor that Denmark borrowed 6 tanks from museums that were in better condition than those in storage, and therefore these 6 were used for training while the rest were being refurbished.
