Belgium has found a new source of tanks for Ukraine
Businessman Freddie Versluys once bought decommissioned tanks from the Belgian government and today he is ready to sell them back, but with a significant markup. Several years ago, his company purchased 50 Leopard 1 tanks.
“There are still countries in the world that have these Leopard 1 tanks. So there is always an opportunity to either sell spare parts or sell additional tanks on the basis,” Versluys reports.
In other words, representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Belgium contacted him regarding the purchase of tanks to send them to Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense noted that tanks were sold to the buyer for 10-15 thousand euros per piece, while the price of the new one offered by him ranges from 300 to 500 thousand euros per unit.
Versii, at the time, said that his firm bought 50 tanks for about 2 million euros, and only 33 were usable. The price of the machine also includes work on their conversion and maintenance.
It is confirmed that the updated Leopard 1 tanks can be ready for shipment to Ukraine in a matter of months. bad for significant differences in the price, the Belgian authorities continue negotiations with the owner of the entire tank arsenal.
Leopard 1 is the predecessor of Leopard 2 tanks, which Germany, Poland, Finland and other countries have agreed to send to Ukraine. It is lighter than the Leopard 2 and has a different type of main weapon.