A ship that will deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine has already left the Spanish city of Santander in the north of the country.

Margarita Robles, Minister of Defense of Spain, reported this, CNN writes.

She added the tanks left Santander “along with 20 heavy transport vehicles,” and their journey by sea would take from five to six days.

“In six days, with going through another country, they will be in Ukraine,” Robles said.

Previously, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced the equipment being shipped.

Four more Leopard 2s committed by Spain are expected to arrive at a later date, as they are now being restored at the Spanish defense plant Santa Bárbara Sistemas in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville).

As previously reported, the first tanks that Spain shipped to Ukraine were in much better condition than the second batch.

Therefore, their restoration will probably take longer and cost more.

The heavy vehicles that Spain also sent to Ukraine are the M113 armored personnel carriers.

It was reported at the end of March that the armored personnel carriers will be shipped to Ukraine together with the tanks. This is an additional batch of M113s in addition to the one transferred in February.

The Spanish Army has 347 Leopard tanks on its balance sheet. Of these, 239 are Leopard 2E tanks which are produced in Spain, while 108 are used Leopard 2A4 tanks purchased from Germany.

Most of those 2A4 Leopard tanks were withdrawn over ten years ago to the army logistics base in Zaragoza and mothballed (removing batteries, oil, etc.) to prevent deterioration.

Therefore, these tanks require restoration work at a specialized enterprise prior to being transferred.