Czech Army gets first German tank as part of swap deal

The Czech Army has taken possession of the first Leopard tank which Czechia is receiving from Germany in return for military help that the country has given to Ukraine. Czechia is due to get 14 previously decommissioned Leopard 2A4 tanks and one recovery vehicle.

The Czech minister of defence, Jana Černochová, symbolically received the key to the first vehicle from a German deputy defence minister at the Czech Army’s base in Přáslavice in the Olomouc Region on Wednesday.

The donation is part of a swap deal that the Prague and Berlin governments agreed to earlier this year, with the tanks compensating Czechia for Soviet-made tanks it has been sending to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia.