Switzerland's Leopard 2 tank (Pz 87 Leo). Photo: Swiss Armed Forces, via armyrecognition.com
Austria does not want to train Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopard 2 main battle tanks. This was confirmed by the country’s Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner in a written statement to the Austrian public broadcaster Ö1, Kurier reports. It was a “sovereign decision of each state to support Ukraine within the framework of its laws,” it said.
German Bundeswehr begins training Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopard 2 tanks next week
According to Kurier, international law expert Ralph Janik told the broadcaster that the country’s neutrality does not stand in the way of the training because there is an EU decision on the issue.
In addition, foreign soldiers are already being trained on the Austrian Leopard 2 tanks, for example, from the NATO countries Hungary and the Czech Republic, according to Ö1, citing the army. Austria has a single tank battalion based in Wels, Upper Austria, with 48 Leopard 2 main battle tanks.
Read also:
- Switzerland close to ending ban on arms exports to Ukraine – Reuters
- Austria arrests Russian spy who passed classified information on war in Ukraine
- Russia’s invasion spurs debate on how Switzerland can help Ukraine with tanks – Bloomberg
- Sweden, Finland fulfilled requirements for joining NATO, it’s time to accept them into Alliance – Stoltenberg
- Austrian company secretly continued Crimean opera project after public denials (2020)
Tags: Austria, Leopard 2, neutrality
