Most tanks provided by Denmark to Ukraine faulty – media

Der Spiegel previously reported that Kiev had rejected ten Leopard 1 tanks donated by Germany because of their poor condition

More than 50% of a new batch of Leopard 1 tanks supplied by Denmark to Ukraine has turned out to be faulty, Danish channel TV 2 has revealed. The hardware was reportedly dispatched to replace a previous delivery from Germany that Kiev had turned down over similar issues.

In a report on Friday, TV 2 cited a written briefing by Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen to allies, in which he acknowledged problems with 12 of the 20 tanks provided by his country. 

Ten of the vehicles are already in Ukraine, although Poulsen reportedly stated that they have minor defects which are being dealt with by local repairmen. The other ten tanks are said to still be in Poland, with at least two of them having serious faults.

In February, Denmark struck a deal with Germany – which manufactures Leopard hardware – and the Netherlands to provide some 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine.

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However, in early July, the Danish Defense Ministry said that the delivery of the tanks was being delayed due to technical problems involving the renovation of gun turrets.

Denmark itself decommissioned the Leopard 1A5 model back in 2005. 

Earlier this week, Germany’s Der Spiegel news outlet reported that Kiev had already rejected a batch of ten Leopard 1s supplied by Berlin over the vehicles’ poor condition. 

Danish Defense Minister Poulsen admitted earlier in September that at least six of the tanks used in a training program for Ukrainian troops had in fact been borrowed from museums. 

The minister said at the time that the hardware destined for the battlefield was in need of renovation as the tanks had “been idle for several years.”