Poland in talks with allies over Leopard 2 transfers to Ukraine

WARSAW, Poland — Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced his country is considering to supply an undisclosed number of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to support its neighbor’s combat against the Russian invasion. However, the transfer must be part of a larger effort by a group of allies, he said.

“Together with [Polish] president [Andrzej Duda], we are holding talks which would lead towards building a broader coalition of states that could supply such heavy, modern gear” to Ukraine, Morawiecki said on Jan. 7, as reported by local daily Rzeczpospolita. “The talks are ongoing. I spoke about this with [German] chancellor [Olaf] Scholz a few weeks ago in Brussels, and I believe that, in the coming few days, we could know more about this topic.”

Morawiecki’s declaration follows a report by The Wall Street Journal which quoted an unnamed senior Polish diplomat as saying Poland is considering a request from Ukraine to donate its Leopard 2s. Last year, Warsaw delivered its Soviet-designed T-72 tanks to the Ukrainian military.

Germany donated the Leopard 2 tanks, which were previously used by the Bundeswehr, to Poland, initiating deliveries in 2002. The Polish Armed Forces currently operate some 247 Leopard 2s in different variants. These include Leopard 2A4 and 2A5 tanks, as well as Leopard 2PL tanks upgraded by the Polish defense industry in cooperation with Germany’s Rheinmetall.

Berlin must approve all weapon transfers of German-made weaponry even long after giving the equipment to partners. As of Jan. 9, the German government had yet to receive a Leopard 2 transfer request from Poland, spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told journalists in Berlin.

In the coming years, Poland intends to base its modern tank fleet on U.S. M1A2 Abrams and South Korean K2 tanks, but the country’s land forces currently rely chiefly on their Leopard 2s.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰总理马特乌什·莫拉维茨基宣布，波兰正在考虑向乌克兰提供数量不详的豹2坦克，以支持其邻国对抗俄罗斯入侵。但他表示，此次坦克转让必须是盟国集团更大规模行动的一部分。

据乌克兰当地日报《共和国报》（Rzeczpospolita）1月7日报道，莫拉维茨基表示：“我们正与波兰总统杜达进行会谈，旨在建立一个更广泛的国家联盟，以便向乌克兰提供此类重型现代化装备。” 他还说：“会谈仍在进行中。几周前我在布鲁塞尔与德国总理朔尔茨谈及此事，我相信未来几天我们能就此议题了解更多进展。”

莫拉维茨基的声明是在《华尔街日报》报道之后发表的。该报道援引一位不愿透露姓名的波兰高级外交官的话说，波兰正在考虑乌克兰提出的捐赠豹2坦克的请求。去年，华沙向乌克兰军队交付了苏联设计的T-72坦克。

德国向波兰捐赠了此前由德国联邦国防军使用的豹2坦克，并于2002年开始交付。波兰武装部队目前装备有约247辆不同型号的豹2坦克，其中包括豹2A4和2A5坦克，以及由波兰国防工业与德国莱茵金属公司合作升级的豹2PL坦克。

即使在向合作伙伴交付装备很久之后，柏林方面仍必须批准所有德国制造武器的转让。德国政府发言人斯特芬·赫贝斯特赖特在柏林告诉记者，截至1月9日，德国政府尚未收到波兰提出的豹2坦克转让申请。

未来几年，波兰计划以美国M1A2艾布拉姆斯和韩国K2坦克为基础建设其现代化坦克部队，但该国陆军目前主要依靠豹2坦克。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。