Germany promises more Leopard tanks to Ukraine as Russia claims it destroyed some

The production of tanks will be increased for Ukraine as Russia claims to have destroyed some of Leopard 2 tanks, German defence minister Boris Pistorius said.

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"We will not be able to replace every tank that is currently out of service. But what we are doing is that we will continue to deliver more refurbished Leopard 1 A5 tanks from July onwards," he was quoted by German TV channel n-tv as saying.

Germany plans to deliver more than 100 tanks to Ukraine by the year’s end, Mr Pistorius added.

While Germany’s defence chief declined to confirm whether Leopard 2 tanks have indeed been destroyed in Ukraine, he stressed it was important to further support Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

"Unfortunately, the nature of war is such that weapons are destroyed, tanks are destroyed and people die. That is why our support for Ukraine is so important," he explained.

On Monday, a German defence ministry spokesperson said they could neither confirm nor deny the reports of the alleged destruction of Leopard tanks in Ukraine.

Ukraine has received several dozen Leopard tanks from European countries as it geared up for a counteroffensive.

While Ukrainian officials are mostly wary of saying whether the counteroffensive has already begun, some, including deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar, did say Ukrainian forces are "going on the offensive" in some areas of the front.