**Western Weapons in Ukraine Face Repair Delays**
The Ukrainian military is facing long delays in repairing Western-supplied equipment damaged on the battlefield. This is due to complex logistics and bureaucratic hurdles, according to reports.
**Equipment Damaged in Ukraine**
Since December 2024, Russian offensives have caused significant damage to Western-supplied military equipment in Ukraine. Estimates by the Oryx monitoring project suggest that at least 11 Leopard 2A4 tanks, 5 German Leopard 2A6 tanks, 7 M1A1 SA Abrams tanks, and 32 M113 armored personnel carriers have been damaged.
**Repair Challenges**
Even simple repairs, such as replacing barrels on howitzers like the Panzerhaubitze 2000, can take months. This is because of a shortage of spare parts, which are in short supply. In an interview, Bohdan Nahay, commander of a Panzerhaubitze 2000 division, noted that frequent software failures and overheating issues also cause problems.
**Obstacles to Repairing Equipment**
The main obstacle to repairing Western equipment is bureaucracy. Export licenses for replacement parts can take weeks or months to obtain, causing delays in the repair process. European defense companies are working to address this issue by establishing joint ventures in Ukraine to repair and maintain donated military equipment.
**Call for Simplified Regulations**
A German defense company representative has called for a “military Schengen” to simplify EU regulations and expedite the approval process for transporting weapons and components across member states. This initiative was recently proposed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and would make it easier to repair Western equipment in Ukraine.
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