Following the controversy surrounding the T-72Bs belonging to the Royal Moroccan Army sent to Ukraine, Rabat has denied the claim.
Twenty modernized have been T-72B main battle tanks have been supplied to Ukraine, making Rabat the first African nation to send support to the war-torn country, however, Morocco denies sending the Main battle tanks to Ukraine, stating that Excalibur Army handed over the tanks without Rabat’s permission and in violation of the contract.
According to a statement by a high-level Moroccan government official, “the T-72 tanks bought earlier in Belarus were being modernized in the Czech Republic, and it was the Czechs who handed them over to Ukraine in violation of the terms of the contract,” the report says.
Morocco purchased from Belarus a batch of 136 T-72B battle tanks, including 12 commander T-72BKS and spare parts for them around two decades ago
In 2021, Morocco signed an agreement with a Czech company Excalibur Army on the purchase of the first batch of military equipment and the modernization it’s fleet of T-72 main battle tanks.
“The Czechs violated the contract in favor of Ukraine after the intervention of America and the Netherlands,” Rabat said.
According to the 2021 United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UN ROCA) report, Morocco received from Excalibur Army 14 of the modernized T-72M for crew training needs, and 460 heavy machine guns.
On November 4, 2022, the Pentagon said the U.S., in a trilateral agreement with the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, would pay for Prague to upgrade 45 Soviet-era T-72 tanks for use in Ukraine.
The T-72Bs tanks were paid for by the United States and the Netherlands under an agreement totaling 2.2 billion rubles. CZK (slightly more than 90 million euros).
The first spotting of the Moroccan T-72B tanks being refurbished for the Ukrainian Army took place during a visit by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala to the Excalibur’s Sternberk facility.
The Czech modernized T-72 upgrade is fitted with an ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) kit mounted at the front and on the sides of the hull as well as the front and the roof of the turret.
So far, a number of European countries refused to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev. In particular, Germany announced its unwillingness to supply military equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.