According to the British Daily Telegraph on the 14th, the German Ministry of Defense's assessment conclusion showed that the "Leopard"-2 main battle tank provided by Germany to Ukraine was not effective on the battlefield. According to a secret document leaked, a German military officer in Kiev admitted that the tank, which was once highly anticipated by the West, was vulnerable to drones, and Ukrainian soldiers had many difficulties in actually operating this heavy equipment.

  A "Leopard"-2 tank in the Zaporoze region of Ukraine Source: Foreign media

  According to reports, according to the minutes of the meeting when the military officer was giving a speech to about 200 German soldiers, although the Leopard-2 tank had been discussed by the media in a high-profile manner, the Ukrainian armed forces believed that this equipment had limited use in the actual combat environment.

  Some of the problems that exist are related to changes in the way of combat. The meeting minutes read that the Leopard-2, like other tanks, is vulnerable to drone attacks. In addition, the complex design of this type of tank makes it difficult to repair on the battlefield after it is damaged, which means that the damaged tanks must be sent to western Ukraine and handed over to a professional maintenance team for handling. Some tanks even have to be transported to Poland for long distances for repair and maintenance. Therefore, in many cases, the problems with the Leopard-2 tank caused the Ukrainian army to mainly use it as artillery and fire shells in a bunker.

  The report mentioned that German Chancellor Scholz did not previously support the provision of tanks to Ukraine, but after relevant media discussions and then-US President Biden agreed to provide Abrams main battle tanks, Scholz finally agreed to support Germany in providing the "Leopard"-2 tanks. In 2023, 18 "Leopard"-2 tanks provided by Germany arrived in Ukraine.

  German military experts said that the lessons learned from the Ukrainian battlefield have obvious reference significance for Germany's own military procurement. German Greens Defense spokesman Sarah Nanni said a clear lesson is the number of tanks. "We can't just consider very few. We have to assume that after the vehicle is damaged, repairs need to be done, and unavailable conditions will last for a long time."

  The report pointed out that Germany is the second largest military supporter of Ukraine after the United States. The leaked minutes also said that there were other problems with the weapons and equipment provided by Germany to Ukraine, and even equipment considered to be well-functioning (such as air defense systems) had insufficient ammunition.

  In December, Sullivan, then-Assistant for National Security Affairs, admitted that the Abrams tanks provided by the United States were "not the most useful equipment" for Ukraine. The report mentioned that of the about 80 Abrams tanks provided by the United States and Australia, about 20 were destroyed, damaged or seized. According to Ukrainian media, like the Leopard tank, in order to maintain and repair Western-assisted tanks, relevant logistics support work has become an "overload." Kiev has also reported similar problems with the "Challenger"-2 main battle tank provided by the UK. Last year, the Sun quoted a Ukrainian tank soldier as saying that the tank often fails and is difficult to repair.