Ukrainian Leopard 2 tanks starve for spare parts

Ukraine not only faces the risk of its Leopard 2 tanks being destroyed in fighting, but also has difficulty repairing and restoring them due to a lack of spare parts.

According to a recent estimate by Oryx, a Netherlands-based open intelligence monitoring site, the Ukrainian military has lost at least 12 of the first 71 Leopard 2 main battle tanks it received from the West. However, battlefield losses are not the main reason why Ukraine is having trouble keeping its Leopard 2s combat-ready.

Many Leopard 2s are simply damaged, not destroyed, by Russian drone attacks or mines. Typically, they are towed back to the rear, repaired, and returned to the battlefield.

But Ukraine is having a hard time repairing damaged Leopard 2s and getting them back to the front due to a lack of spare parts. This has left dozens of relatively intact Leopard 2s grounded pending repairs.

A damaged Ukrainian Leopard 2 tank in a forest on January 19. Photo: NTV — A damaged Ukrainian Leopard 2 tank in a forest on January 19. Photo: *NTV*

During a visit to a repair facility for Leopard 2A6 and Strv 122, a variant based on the Leopard 2A5, in Lithuania in early January, German Green Party politician Sebastian Schafer admitted that "Ukraine can only use a small number of the main battle tanks it has been delivered."

"The repair process took a long time because the Lithuanian workshop lacked suitable spare parts," said Mr. Schafer. "In addition, Ukrainian mechanics tried to repair the Leopard 2 tanks themselves, causing further damage."

Mr. Schafer suggested preventing this by training more skilled mechanics for Ukraine, providing guidance or assessing whether certain repairs could be performed in the country.

"Due to the need for spare parts and the desire to repair them themselves, Ukrainian soldiers tend to 'cut up' the most damaged Leopard 2s before sending them to Lithuania or Poland," said Major General Christian Freuding, head of the Ukrainian department of the German Defense Ministry.

This leaves workers at Leopard 2 repair shops in other countries to repair both battlefield damage and replace parts that Ukrainian soldiers have removed. “These centers not only repair the tank, but also rebuild it,” said General Freuding.

Some German officials said that in addition to damage or losses in combat, many Ukrainian Leopard 2 tanks suffered significant technical wear due to the skills of the drivers and gunners.

The moment Russian guided bullets took down Leopard 2 tank — Russian guided missiles hit a Ukrainian Leopard 2 tank on January 2. Video: *Russian Ministry of Defense*

With a greater supply of spare parts to repair centers and on the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers will have less need to remove parts from damaged Leopard 2s to use on remaining tanks. This will shorten the Leopard 2 repair process from months to weeks.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military command decided to transfer all remaining Leopard 2A6 tanks in the 47th Mechanized Brigade to the 21st Mechanized Brigade, which operates a number of Strv 122 tanks, to simplify logistics.

Forbes editor David Axe commented that to permanently solve the problem of Ukrainian Leopard 2 tanks lacking spare parts, the German defense industry must significantly increase the production of components for this vehicle and maintain that for a long time.

Nguyen Tien (According to Forbes, Spiegel, AFP, Reuters )

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