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Challenger and Leopard tanks come with potential pitfalls for Ukraine

19th January 2023 - 16:00 GMT | by Flavia Camargos Pereira, Norbert Neumann in London

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Speaking at the Davos summit on 18 January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country is ‘strategically interlocked’ with the US, France and others when it comes to decisions about weapons to Ukraine. (Photo: UK MoD Crown Copyright)

British and German main battle tank models could make a difference to Ukraine's combat capabilities if provided in sufficient numbers, but training on and integration of the vehicles may cause headaches for Kyiv.

On 16 January, the UK confirmed it will send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks (MBTs) to help Ukraine's fight back against Russia’s invasion.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would allow Ukrainian soldiers to start training with the British tanks immediately.

Although the 14 Challengers could provide a useful boost to the Ukrainian ground forces' capabilities, one objective of pledging the MBTs is to spur action from other allies to do the same, most notably Germany.

Wallace told the House of Commons he would urge his counterparts in Berlin to at least give permission for Poland, Finland and other European countries to