Ukrainians already training on Leopard tanks in Spain - Sanchez

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday, February 23, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

Video: Office of the President of Ukraine

"Together with the contribution of other allies, these units will contribute to push the capacity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On top of this, we are already training Ukrainian soldiers in the correct use of our Leopards. The first batch of these troopers is already in Spain. They are receiving this specific training. We are aiming to synchronize the delivery of the Leopards with the finalization of the training of Ukrainian soldiers," Sanchez said.

He added that Spain could send some more Leopard tanks at a later stage if necessary. According to him, given the critical need for weapons, Spain is strongly advocating within the European Union to make joint purchases and to scale up provisions for Ukraine's defense.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on February 22 that Madrid planned to send six Leopard 2 A4 tanks to Ukraine.

Sanchez arrived in Kyiv early on February 23.