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Delivery of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine impossible now — German defense minister

Boris Pistorius did not rule out additional supplies of Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine from the army’s reserves on top of 14 that were promised earlier

BERLIN, February 17. /TASS/. Supplies of the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine by Berlin are not possible at the moment, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel, which came out on Friday.

"As for the Patriot missile defense system, as of now, we have only one such system in Germany," he said. "If I do it (send it to Kiev - TASS) today, I will not even be able to do any training. And if I can't train anymore, I will not be able to train Ukrainian soldiers anymore."

"That is why many such discussions are simply poorly thought out," he said, when asked if Germany could render more assistance to Kiev.

However, the minister did not rule out additional supplies of Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine from the army’s reserves on top of 14 that were promised earlier. "I don’t rule out anything, but Germany has undertaken to establish a full-fledged division by 2025. We are speaking about the defense of NATO’s eastern flank. I must maintain defense and operational readiness," he explained.

According to Pistorius, he wants contracts with the defense industry to be ready for signing by the summer so that the German army can receive the tanks that will be transferred to Ukraine as soon as possible. "We have undertaken certain commitments and, guided by these, companies are already contracting steel and engines. The thing is that it takes at least two or two and a half years to supply tanks. If I am sure that I will be able to replace all of our Leopards, I could have been more generous in helping Ukraine," he added.

On January 25, the German government announced that it planned to supply Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2 tanks and to allow re-export of such tanks from other countries. On February 7, the German government approved supplies of 178 Leopard 1A5 tanks from the country’s industrial reserves. According to Pistorius, German tanks are expected to reach Ukraine in the last week of March at the latest.

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