The 55-ton Leopard 2 tank has a maximum speed of 68 kilometres per hour, a range of around 500 kilometres and a crew of four.
Germany has agreed to deploy its third-generation MTB Leopard 2 to Ukraine, a move that Kyiv's major Western supporters expect will help them better defend itself against Russian invaders.
Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for the German government, has said publicly that Berlin plans to send 14 Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks from the Bundeswehr to Ukraine.
Hebestreit also noted that Germany is allowing other European nations to transfer tanks from their own inventories to Ukraine.
What is the Leopard 2?
The Leopard 2 is marketed as "the world's leading battle tank" by its German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann because it has been able to adapt to a wide variety of battlefield conditions because to its combination of firepower, protection, speed, and manoeuvrability for over half a century.
The 55-ton tank has a maximum speed of 68 kilometres per hour, a range of around 500 kilometres (310 miles), and a crew of four. The first version entered service in 1979; now there are four primary variations. Tanks of the Leopard 2 series are armed primarily with Rheinmetall smoothbore 120 mm cannons. Modern night vision and sighting equipment, as well as a computerised firing control system, are used to operate this. MTU Friedrichshafen built the V-12 twin-turbo diesel engine that propels the tank.
Why does Ukraine want these German tanks?
In its struggle against Russia's invasion, Ukraine has expressed an urgent need for stronger armour. Kyiv has a small fleet of tanks, mostly from the Soviet or post-Soviet period. Kyiv and many of its supporters think that the conflict would end more quickly if Russia is beaten on the battlefield in Ukraine's counter-offensives to take back Russian-occupied territory and the Ukrainian government has been very vocal about its assumption that Moscow plans to launch a large new offensive in the coming months.
Also, READ: Russia-Ukraine war: US and Germany to send M1 Abrams, Leopard tanks to Kyiv
Significant successes have been made by Ukraine, including the battle for Kyiv at the start of the war, in Kharkiv oblast, and around Kherson in the south; however, the country's operations are hampered by a lack of tanks and are increasingly being countered by more modern and capable T-90s fielded by Russian forces. Leopards are well-suited to Kyiv since they are widely available, even in neighbouring Poland, which hopes to provide them to Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has proposed purchasing 300 tanks.
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 "Leopard 2 tank (Reuters)")
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