Germany's Federal Security Council has approved the supply of 178 Leopard 1 tanks from their industrial stocks to Ukraine.

As Spiegel reports, the decision allowed the export of Leopard 1 tanks from the Rheinmetall and Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) international integrated technology groups.

According to the publication, the first tanks should arrive in Ukraine in the summer, but most of them will not be delivered until next year. The government will officially announce the decision on Tuesday evening.

Last week, the German government approved the export of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine.

The Leopard 1 is the first main battle tank built for the German Army after World War II. It was produced from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. The 14 Leopard 2 tanks promised earlier by Berlin are much more modern.

Earlier, the German Defense Ministry reported that German manufacturers have 29 largely refurbished models of the Leopard 2 predecessor.