According to a classified transcript obtained by German media, Ukraine’s military is struggling to utilize Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks on the battlefield effectively due to several operational difficulties.
Germany remains Ukraine’s second-largest supplier of military equipment after the United States. However, the delivery of these tanks faced significant delays as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government took months to decide on sending heavy weaponry to Ukraine, which only came after the US committed to sending Abrams tanks.
The Leopard 2 tanks, which arrived in Ukraine in 2023, are proving vulnerable to drone strikes – a challenge facing tanks in general in modern warfare, according to The Telegraph.
However, their complex design presents additional problems, making battlefield repairs particularly difficult. Damaged tanks often need to be transported to specialized repair facilities in western Ukraine or even Poland for maintenance.
“The main problem with Leopard 2s given to Ukraine is that there are too few of them. If one or two have to be repaired, that’s a big part of what Ukraine has that’s suddenly out of commission for a while,” said Sergej Sumlenny, managing director of the Berlin-based European Resilience Initiative Center
These limitations reportedly forced Ukrainian battalions to use the Leopard 2s primarily as artillery platforms rather than in their intended role.
Sumlenny notes that the tanks were “not designed for the Ukrainian battlefield” and function optimally with good air support, which Ukraine lacks.
“Leopard 2s were also not designed for the Ukrainian battlefield. They function well when they have good air support, but Ukraine is short on this.”
The German design philosophy may also contribute to these issues. Sumlenny said the tanks were “designed by a generation of German manufacturers that hadn’t seen war, and so tended to overcomplicate the system.”
In contrast, older systems from the 1960s, though less well-armored, prove more practical in combat scenarios.
“Older systems, designed in the 1960s by those who actually saw war, are far more useful on the battlefield but have weaker armour,” Sumlenny said.
German defense experts view Ukraine’s experience as instructive for Germany’s own military procurement, particularly in preparation for potential Russian aggression against NATO.
The German Green Party defense spokesperson, Sara Nanni, emphasized the need for greater numbers of available systems: “We can no longer think in such small quantities. We have to assume that vehicles have a long downtime after they’re damaged and simply need to be serviced.”
Similar maintenance and logistical problems have been reported with American Abrams tanks and British Challenger 2 tanks.
Former US national security adviser Jake Sullivan acknowledged in December that the Abrams tanks were “not the most useful piece of equipment” for Ukraine, while retired US Army General Mark Hertling described them as “technological marvels” with “immense maintenance demands” and “enormous fuel consumption.”
Ukrainian forces reportedly lost approximately 20 of the 80 Abrams tanks the US and Australia provided. Ukrainian personnel also cited complex logistical challenges with British Challenger 2 tanks, including difficulties obtaining spare parts and completing repairs.
