The Diplomat
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, participated yesterday in the ministerial meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, in which she reiterated Spain’s commitment to send ten Leopard 2A 4 battle tanks and announced that, this past Tuesday, “the training of 55 Ukrainian military personnel who will be part of the crew and maintenance team of these tanks was completed.”
The ministerial meeting, known as the Ramstein Format, was convened by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and was attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. This is the tenth meeting of this Group, which coordinates the support to Ukraine of the more than forty countries that are members of it. The Minister was accompanied by the Secretary General for Defense Policy, Juan Francisco Martínez Núñez.
Prior to the interventions of the convened countries, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense presented the latest news on the situation on the ground and the most urgent needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This information was amplified by interventions from senior U.S., Ukrainian and NATO military commanders in two sessions that also addressed issues related to training and sustainment of the effort in support.
During the last session, the Defense chiefs focused on the latest contributions of their respective countries and on future forecasts. As reported yesterday by the Ministry of Defense, Spain has announced the shipment of six Leopard 2A 4 battle tanks in the near future, to which a second batch of another four units will be added later.
“Yesterday the training of 55 Ukrainian military personnel who will form part of the crew and maintenance team of these tanks was completed”, said Robles to her counterparts, before whom she also announced the delivery of a new batch of TOA M-113 Infantry Vehicles and informed about the training activities of Ukrainian personnel that are being carried out under the direction of the Toledo Training Coordination Centre within the framework of the European Union Assistance Mission for Ukraine. To date, according to Defense, more than 850 military personnel have been trained in Spain in a wide range of specialties.
In conclusion, the Minister assured that, as long as necessary, “Spain will continue to support with military equipment, training and humanitarian aid the self-defense of Ukraine and its admirable effort and courage to recover its freedom and dignity”.
