German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced when German Leopard 2 tanks are planned to be delivered to Ukraine.

According to him, Kyiv should receive the tanks by the end of March, Ukrinform reports.

Pistorius also shared that in the coming days, the Ukrainian military will start training to use the German Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

The mastering of Leopard 2 tanks will begin later.

Boris Pistorius, Minister of Defense of Germany, stated this during his first visit to the troops in Saxony-Anhalt.

“I have no reason to believe that it is too late. I think we will deliver our Leopards by the end of March at the latest. As far as I understand, it is quite fast,” the minister said.

Pistorius is convinced that the tanks will strengthen the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and help them successfully fight against the Russian invasion forces for the sake of restoring the territorial integrity of the state.

The Head of the Bundeswehr also confirmed that the training of Ukrainian servicemen to use the Marder infantry fighting vehicles will start before the end of January.

He noted that training with tanks will begin a little later, “in order to complete everything by the end of March – beginning of April.”

The new Head of the Ministry of Defense reiterated that the decision to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine was difficult for Berlin, but it is important that it was made in close cooperation with allies and partners.

It should be noted that this decision was made by European countries in coordination with the United States, which for its part plans to hand over a battalion of Abrams tanks.

Previously, 12 countries agreed to transfer main battle tanks to Ukraine.