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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Philip Oltermann in Berlin

German tank manufacturer’s warning puts pressure on Ukraine’s allies

A German Leopard tank in Bratislava, Slovakia
A German Leopard tank in Bratislava, Slovakia. Getting the tanks ready for battle would take months, said Rheinmetall. Photograph: Radovan Stoklasa/Reuters

Battle tanks from German industrial reserves wanted by Ukraine will not be ready to be delivered until 2024, the arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has warned, increasing pressure on Nato allies to support Ukraine with armoured vehicles in active service instead, ahead of a key meeting this week.

“Even if the decision to send our Leopard tanks to Kyiv came tomorrow, the delivery would take until the start of next year,” Rheinmetall’s chief executive, Armin Papperger, told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

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