The Dutch Defence Ministry did not comment to the publication on the possible deployment of Gepard in Ukraine, but a spokesman confirmed that the Netherlands managed to sell Gepard to Jordan “at a good price”.
Ukraine will receive German Gepard self-propelled air defence systems written off by the Dutch army to fight Russian drones, the Telegraaf newspaper has quoted sources as saying.
“The air defence systems (Gepard) decommissioned by the Netherlands will get a new life on the frontline in Ukraine,” the paper says. The Gepard SAMs sold by the Dutch to Jordan will reportedly be deployed in Ukraine “to fight Russian drones.”
According to the newspaper, the German self-propelled launchers were supplied to the Dutch army back in the 1970s. Later, the Dutch military equipped them with its own radar. However, since 2006, the German self-propelled guns were withdrawn from service by the Dutch army, as they were not suitable for the types of conflicts in which the Dutch were involved. Since 2013, the Netherlands started selling Gepard to Jordan.
Earlier, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Western equipment turned out to be flawed in combat against the Russian Armed Forces. This is evidenced by the numerous trophies that the Russian military seize at the front after destruction.