The German authorities terminated the agreement with Poland on the construction on Polish territory of a center for the repair of Leopard tanks transferred to Ukraine, Handelsblatt reports , citing its sources. From the point of view of Germany, Poland includes unreasonably large expenses in the contract.
At the same time, the German Ministry of Defense, in its official commentary, said that a final decision had not yet been made and negotiations with the Polish side were still underway.
In March, Germany delivered 18 modern Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine, and other European partners announced the supply of their Leopard tanks. However, according to Handelsblatt, out of 14 Leopard 2A4s supplied by Poland, eight required additional repairs.
A repair center for Leopard tanks was planned to be built in Poland, since in this way it would be in close proximity to the Ukrainian border. In April, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak signed an agreement of intent to build such a center.
It was assumed that the enterprise would be a joint venture – the German concerns Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann would participate in it, and PGZ from Poland. However, according to Handelsblatt sources, PGZ quoted a price that is "ten times different from the usual".
Earlier, the German Defense Minister said that an agreement with Poland could be concluded, "if possible, within the next ten days." Meanwhile, the Leopard 2A5 and 2A6 tanks will be repaired in Germany and possibly in Lithuania. Uncertainty remains as to where the Leopard 2A4 will be refurbished. In April, it was also reported that Rheinmetall would build a repair center for Western military equipment transferred to Ukraine in Romania.