Boris Pistorius made the declaration on Thursday, US broadcaster CNN reported.
Speaking to the media at a German army training camp in the eastern town of Altengrabow, Pistorius said: “We will deliver our Leopards – at the latest by the end of March.”
“This is not too late,” he added.
After weeks of diplomatic pressure, Germany announced on Wednesday it would send 14 of its Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine, news outlets reported.
Germany said it would also allow partner countries to re-export further tanks.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden approved the supply of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Canada to send four Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Canada confirmed on Thursday that it would send four Leopard tanks to help Ukraine fight Russia's invasion, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.
The announcement comes after Poland, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain have offered to provide Ukraine with some of their German-made Leopards, according to officials.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that the goal was to quickly establish two battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine.
A battalion usually has three or four companies and a company comprises around 14 tanks, according to military experts.
Tanks for Ukraine
Meanwhile, Britain hopes that the Challenger 2 tanks it is providing to Ukraine will arrive in the country at the end of March, according to defence department minister Alex Chalk, The Guardian reported.
Kyiv has said that modern tanks are desperately needed to give its army the firepower and mobility to punch through Russian defensive lines and reclaim occupied territory in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Russian air strike on Ukraine kills at least 11
Russia on Thursday unleashed a wave of missiles and drones on cities across Ukraine, killing at least 11 people, according to The Guardian.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valery Zaluzhnyi said that Russian forces launched 55 air- and sea-based missiles, including Kh-101, Kh-555, Kh-47, and Kh-95 Kalibr and Kinzhal missiles at Ukraine from Tu-95, Su-35, and MiG-31K aircraft from the waters of the Black Sea, as cited by the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank.
Ukrainian air defence shot down 47 of the 55 missiles and all 24 Shahed 136 and 131 drones, according to officials.
The mass air raid came during morning rush hour, a day after Germany and the United States pledged battlefield tanks to help Ukraine combat the Russian invasion, The Economist reported.
Friday is day 338 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: CNN, The Guardian, The Economist, Institute for the Study of War