Numerous German Leopard tanks in Ukrainian steppes become real nightmare for Russian army again

It took German industry a full 19 months, from July 2023 to early September 2024, to deliver the first 58 Leopard 1A5 tanks out of the 155 that Germany had committed to delivering to Ukraine. They first had to be repaired. However, the problem of the shortage of spare parts has now most likely been solved, says journalist David Ax.
In his article for Forbes, he writes that Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have begun to step up the pace. If Ukraine received 58 Leopard 1A5s by September 2024, then over the past few months, another 45 tanks from the 1980s have been delivered.
At the same time, the journalist notes that the delivery schedule is of considerable importance.
"The four-seater Leopard 1A5 will become the Western-made tank with the most numbers in Ukraine, surpassing Germany's 104 Leopard 2s, America's 80 M-1s [Abrams] and Britain's measly 14 Challenger 2s," he writes.
Moreover, the Ukrainian General Staff, he says, has already distributed the Challenger 2, M-1 and Leopard 2 to the appropriate brigades. The Leopard 1 is the only Western tank that can be equipped with the 12 or so new brigades that have been formed in recent months. Axe points out that a Ukrainian mechanized brigade typically has one tank battalion with 31 tanks.
The 40-ton Leopard 1 from the 1980s is not new, but it is not the oldest tank in Ukrainian service. And while it is light and lightly armored compared to the Abrams, it boasts a reliable 105mm main gun and a precise EMES-18 fire control system.
According to Aks, Ukraine has done everything possible to mitigate the main drawback of this type - thin armor, by adding active armor blocks and a net to protect against drones.
It seems to be helping. Of the 58 Leopard 1s the Ukrainians received by early September, only six were destroyed. At the same time, it is clear that the Ukrainians are reluctant to send such tanks to the most dangerous parts of the front. For the recent local counterattacks in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian brigades, according to the journalist, collected their few surviving Abrams and Leopard 2A6.
Earlier, media reported that Germany recently transferred a new aid package for Ukraine, which included, in particular, 15 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, as wellas 1 IRIS-T SLM and 1 IRIS-T SLS air defense missile system, several Patriot and Gepard launchers, and so on.
In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces may receive the Skyranger 35 air defense system, which was made on the basis of the Leopard 1. Rheinmetall reported the details.