Germany, Poland, and Ukraine signed a maintenance agreement for German-made Leopards on Friday whereby the tanks provided to Ukraine would be serviced in Poland.
During a brief signing ceremony on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO and allied defense ministers at Ramstein U.S. Air Base in Germany, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius called the deal “a first step for what will become a maintenance hub for our Leopards which we provided to you, Oleksii,” as he turned to Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov.
The current shortage of ammunition should be seen, as Finland’s representative put it, as a “wake-up call” for all members of NATO. The Nordic nation, neighboring Russia, joined the alliance earlier this month.
The Finnish Ministry of Defense Permanent Secretary, Esa Pulkkinen told reporters “The stockpiles are too low, our industries are not anymore able to produce the capacity we need if we face a conventional threat.”
Pulkkinen said he was speaking on behalf of Finland’s outgoing defense minister who “has become a lame duck” following the recent elections there.
Source : TVP World
