By Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska and Kuba Stezycki
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland aims to cut training time on Leopard 2 main battle tanks to five weeks at a center where Ukrainian soldiers are likely to be taught how to operate the Western workhorse against invading Russia .
The town of Swietoszow in western Poland, near the German border, is home to one of the three leopard training centers in Europe; the others are in Germany and Switzerland.
The Polish military declined to confirm where the Ukrainian soldiers would be trained, but military experts said Swietoszow was the most likely location.
“It is possible or even likely that the training of Ukrainian Leopard 2 tank crews will take place in Swietoszow, but other locations cannot be ruled out,” said Jakub Pawlowski, military expert and deputy editor-in-chief of Defense24.pl.
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A coalition of Western supporters of Ukraine formed in January to provide Kyiv with German-made Leopard tanks, and on January 20, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukrainian troops would be trained on Leopards in Poland.
In a training center equipped with simulators, 14 crews of four people each can be trained at the same time. Training on the Leopard, the modern main battle tank used by many NATO member countries in Europe, has so far taken about 10 weeks, but this could be reduced to five, the instructors said.
“If we intensify training (maximizing the number of) instructors, our time and our weekends, we can train a full crew in five weeks,” Maj. Maciej Banaszynski, commander of Leopard’s training center in Poland.
“Leopard tanks are third-generation tanks. Their mobility on various terrains is better compared to Russian tanks,” said Warrant Officer Lukasz Setny, a senior Leopard instructor.
“A (Russian tank) is like having a new Fiat 26p instead of a second-hand Mercedes. It is easier and more comfortable to drive an old Mercedes than a new Fiat 126p, ”he said.
Banaszynski said that Polish instructors were conducting Leopard training courses for tank crews and drivers. “In addition, we now conduct courses in mechanics of arms, chassis and equipment that accompany the Leopard,” he said.
The only tank that Ukraine has used so far against the invasion of Russia has been the T-72 inherited from the former Soviet Union. But Poland’s Leopard trainers said it wasn’t difficult to switch from operating battle tanks from the old to the new generation.
(Reporting by Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska, editing by Mark Heinrich)
Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.
