Poland aims to get training time with Ukrainian soldiers

1/2/2023 6:29

        Poland aims to get training
        time on Leopard 2 battle tanks down to five weeks at a centre
        where Ukrainian soldiers are likely to be taught how to operate
        the Western battlefield workhorse against Russia's invasion.
        
        The village of Swietoszow in western Poland, near the German
        border, hosts one of just three Leopard training centres in
        Europe - the others are in Germany and Switzerland.
        
        The Polish military declined to confirm where 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 Defence24.pl.
        
        A coalition of Ukraine's Western supporters formed in
        January to provide Kyiv with German-made Leopard tanks, and on
        Jan. 20 Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said
        Ukrainian troops would be trained on Leopards in Poland.
        
        At a training centre equipped with simulators, 14 crews of
        four personnel each can undergo instruction at once. Training on
        the Leopard - the vaunted modern battlefield tank used by many
        NATO member countries in Europe - has hitherto taken about 10
        weeks but this could be reduced to five, instructors said.
        
        "If we intensify training (by maximising the number of)
        instructors, our time and our weekends, we can train an entire
        crew in five weeks," Major Maciej Banaszynski, Poland's Leopard
        training centre commander, told Reuters on Tuesday.
        
        "Leopard tanks are third-generation tanks. Their mobility on
        diverse terrain is better compared to Russian tanks," said chief
        warrant officer Lukasz Setny, a senior Leopard instructor.
        
        "A (Russian tank) is like having a new Fiat 26p rather than
        a second-hand Mercedes. It is easier and more comfortable to
        drive an old Mercedes than a new Fiat 126p,” he said.
        
        Banaszynski said Polish instructors were running Leopard
        training courses for tank crews and for drivers. "In addition,
        we now run courses for mechanics for the arms, chassis and
        equipment accompanying Leopards,” he said.
        
        The only tank Ukraine has so far used against Russia's
        invasion has been the T-72 inherited from the former Soviet
        Union. But Poland's Leopard trainers said it was not difficult
        to switch from operating old- to new-generation battle tanks.