Leopard 2 tank inventories in European and NATO countries 2021

In January 2023, almost one year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, pressure is mounting for European and NATO countries to provide additional military hardware to Ukraine, particularly main battle tanks such as the Leopard 2. The German-made tank is widely used across Europe and the NATO alliance and could potentially be supplied in significant numbers to the Ukrainian army. The ability to do this largely depends on the approval of the German government however, as re-exporting the tanks to Ukraine legally requires their permission. The German government was initially reluctant to do this, but as of late January is set to reverse this stance and approve the delivery of Leopards to Ukraine.