Dozens of Leopard 1 tanks, which until a few years ago belonged to the Belgian army, have been bought by the government of a European country which will give them to Ukraine in order to strengthen the forces of Kiev in the war against the Russian invaders, the CEO announced on Tuesday. of the company that sold them.

The German-made Leopard 1s have recently been at the center of controversy after Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder revealed that the Belgian government had considered re-acquiring the tanks to send to Ukraine, but the price had been deemed “outrageous”. .

The dispute has highlighted the difficulties facing Western governments trying to secure military aid for Ukraine. Weapon systems that were considered obsolete are now in high demand. In some cases, they are owned by private companies.

Freddy Verslais, managing director of OIP Land Systems, bought the tanks from the Belgian government about five years ago. As he told the Reuters news agency, he sold the 50 tanks to the government of a European country, without disclosing which one – or the price – citing a confidentiality clause.

The financial newspaper Handelsblatt reported yesterday that the German defense industry Rheinmetall bought the tanks and after the maintenance work is completed will deliver them to Ukraine. Rheinmetall declined to comment on the newspaper’s information.

“The fact that they are leaving our company’s ownership proves that we were asking for a reasonable price and someone was very happy to get them,” Verslais said in a LinkedIn post, accompanied by a photo of Ukrainian vodka with tanks in the background. .

Freddy Versleis said some of the Leopard 1s will be used for spare parts, while others will be repaired. He estimated that it will take 4-6 months before they are on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Reuters reports that the German government has covered the cost of repairing and sending 32 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine as part of the military aid package announced by Berlin at the recent NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. So far the information is not confirmed by the German Ministry of Defense.

Several of Kiev’s Western allies agreed earlier this year to deliver modern Leopard 2 tanks as well as older Leopard 1 models to Ukraine.

Manufacture of the Leopard 1 by Germany’s Krauss-Maffei began in the 1960s. They are lighter than the Leopard 2 and have less firepower. The tanks sold by Verslais were last upgraded in the 1990s.