USA: Polish instructors assert that it is possible to halve the amount of time needed to train crews from Ukraine to operate main battle tanks made by German company Leopard 2 and have them prepared for combat in less than a month.
Warsaw is now "likely" to provide the required training as the nation is home to one of Europe's three Leopard training centres, according to military experts who spoke to Reuters on Tuesday. Warsaw previously spearheaded the effort to send Western-made tanks to Kiev. The facility in the western Polish village of Swietoszow, close to the German border, has simulators for simultaneously training 14 crews.
According to Major Maciej Banaszynski, the facility's commander, "if we intensify training by maximising the number of instructors, our time, and our weekends, we can train an entire crew in five weeks." Polish instructors now provide "courses for mechanics for the arms, chassis, and equipment accompanying Leopards," he added, in addition to crew training.
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Although the Polish government has not yet formally confirmed it, Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov has previously stated that his country's troops will train there.
In response to pressure from the US, Poland, and several other NATO allies last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his intention to send 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from Germany's own stock to Kiev by the end of March at the latest.
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Following Berlin's announcement that it would permit other nations in possession of the German-made hardware to re-export it to Kiev, Warsaw pledged an additional 14 Leopards right away. The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Canada have all promised Kiev their powerful armour.
The US agreed to send 31 of its M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Kiev, but it issued a warning that the delivery might take several months. The US tanks won't arrive until the end of the year at the earliest, according to recent reporting by the Washington Post, and were only provided as "cover" for Germany to send the Leopards.
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Heavy tanks and other foreign weapons, according to Russia, won't alter the conflict's course. These tanks will burn just like the rest, as we've previously stated. The Abrams specifically, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, "just cost a lot [to make]."