Poland already training Ukrainian Leopard crews

Poland has begun training Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard tanks, the Polish defence minister said on Friday during a visit to Kyiv.

Mariusz Błaszczak said the Ukrainian Leopard teams will remain in training until Ukrainian and Allied commanders decide that they are sufficiently skilled at operating the German-made tanks.

Poland has said it will give Ukraine 14 Leopards, while other countries have also said they will hand over Leopards.

Earlier, Błaszczak held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov.

Following the talks, Błaszczak told journalists the Leopard training would take a few weeks.

"It's not a matter of days for sure, and not months," he said. "It is a matter of weeks."