Germany and Poland cannot agree on opening a centre to repair Ukrainian Leopard 2 tanks, but consensus should be reached within 10 days

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively using German Leopard 2 tanks at the front. A centre to repair the fighting vehicles is expected to appear in Poland, but Berlin and Warsaw have been unable to reach an agreement.

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Polish state-owned company Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) last month announced it was moving to the final stage of negotiations with German defence contractors Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall. However, it said this week that an agreement had still not been reached. Until the negotiations are concluded, all parties remain silent.

Nevertheless, PGZ decided to comment on the story after an article in the German newspaper Der Spiegel. The recent publication states that the project has stalled because Germany and Poland cannot agree on a common denominator on the structure of the common enterprise.

Initially, the plan envisaged that two workshops would be opened in Polish factories to repair German-made Ukrainian Leopard 2 tanks. The work would be paid for by the German government.

According to Der Spiegel, PGZ wants to receive more than $100,000 for diagnostics of the tanks, whereas in Germany this procedure costs much less. In addition, the Polish firm is unwilling to give a guarantee for repairs.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius also commented on the situation. He said that tank repair was an important part of the assistance to Ukraine, and negotiations on the centre should be completed within 10 days.

Source: Der Spiegel, NTV