Cyprus says no to Greece's Leopard tanks, eyes Israeli-made Merkavas

TASS · 🇷🇺 public Russia · Aug 17, 2026 · 555 words

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What to know about Cyprus says no to Greece's Leopard tanks, eyes Israeli-made Merkavas

The article reports on Cyprus's potential acquisition of Israeli Merkava main battle tanks to replace its Russian-made T-80U fleet. It details the reasons for rejecting Greek Leopard tanks and French Leclerc tanks, citing costs and equipment condition as primary factors.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The Cyprus National Guard may become the first foreign operator of Israel’s Merkava main battle tanks after Nicosia declined to purchase used Leopard 1A5 tanks from Greece, the Phileleftheros newspaper reported.

Why it matters

According to the Cypriot daily newspaper Phileleftheros, which reported on the issue on August 10, 2026, Cypriot authorities are asking that Israel prepare a significant number of Mk3 or Mk4 Merkava main battle tanks for transfer to the island republic.

Common ground

Cyprus intends to use these tanks to replace its fleet of Russian-made T-80U tanks, the repair and maintenance of which have proven to be "extremely costly and inefficient" amid Western sanctions imposed on Russia.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Cyprus says no to Greece's Leopard tanks, eyes Israeli-made Merkavas?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that T-80U [tanks use] 125-mm shells?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://tass.com/world/2174223

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

schedule Pending 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

schedule

Claim 1: “T-80U [tanks use] 125-mm shells”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “The Cyprus National Guard may become the first foreign operator of Israel’s Merkava main battle tanks after Nicosia declined to purchase used Leopard 1A5 tanks from Greece”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources report that Cyprus is considering the Israeli Merkava tanks as a replacement after rejecting Greek Leopard 1A5 tanks.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Cypriot National Guard is a combined arms force and represents the organised air, land and sea capabilities of the Republic of Cyprus. Equipment is mostly imported from other countries, since the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_Cypri…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of countries that currently operate main battle tanks, in their military service. A main battle tank (MBT) is a type of tank that is armour-protected, direct fire and maneuver in many m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_main_battle_tanks_by_c…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the late…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-80

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “a military delegation from the Cyprus National Guard visited Greece to inspect these combat vehicles”

CORROBORATED

Sources confirm that a Cypriot delegation visited Greece to inspect the Leopard 1A5 tanks.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Leopard 1) — основной боевой танк, и его модернизированные варианты, состоявшие на вооружении ВС ФРГ, до 1980-х годов, а также в вооружённых силах Нидерландов, Бельгии, Норвегии, Дании, Австралии и Ит…
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Леопард_1

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web search NEUTRAL — A delegation from Cyprus is expected to travel to Greece to inspect the tanks and assess their operational condition before any final agreement is reached. Bridging capability gaps. The Leopard 1A5 — …
https://greekcitytimes.com/2026/04/18/leopard-1a5-cyprus-gre…

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web search NEUTRAL — Обзор немецкого среднего танка Leopard 1 десятого уровня в игре "Мир танков". В гайде рассмотрим оборудование для Леопарда 1, подберем лучшие навыки для экипажа, изучим броню и технические характерист…
https://rutube.ru/video/d772618b68bfb193a48c1fb8e0522bf2/

schedule

Claim 4: “Merkava tanks - especially older models such as the Mk2 or Mk3 - would cost the country $4-5 million per tank”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 5: “Cypriot authorities are asking that Israel prepare a significant number of Mk3 or Mk4 Merkava main battle tanks for transfer to the island republic”

CORROBORATED

Web search results specifically mention that refurbished Merkava tanks are being prepared for possible export to Cyprus and Morocco, with references to Mk III/IV models.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Merkava Mk 4M tanks, fitted with the Trophy Active Protection system, intercepted anti-tank missiles and RPGs on dozens of occasions during the ground operation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkava

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web search NEUTRAL — Ultimate Weapons- Merkava IV. Tap to unmute.Inside Israel’s Weird Tank Units (Merkava)Battle Order854K views • 3 years agoLivePlaylist ()Mix (50+).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGmxKLQeWu4

+ 1 more evidence source

schedule

Claim 6: “The Merkava 4 main battle tanks... will cost between $6 million and $10 million per piece”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 7: “the cost of a single such tank [Leclerc] is approximately 16-18 million euros ($18.5-20.9 million)”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific cost of a Leclerc tank.

schedule

Claim 8: “Merkava 3 main battle tanks... use the same 120-mm NATO-standard ammunition”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 9: “French Leclerc main battle tanks were being considered as one of the options for procurement”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the consideration of French Leclerc tanks.

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Claim 10: “Israel indicated for the first time [in 2023] that it was considering the possibility of selling its domestically developed main battle tanks to two countries, one of which was believed to be a European nation”

CORROBORATED

Reports from The Times of Israel and Anadolu Ajansı confirm that Israel indicated in 2023 it was in talks to sell used Merkava tanks to two countries, including one in Europe.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts. The war began on 7 October 2023, when the military wing …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_war

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; Hebrew: צְבָא הֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, romanized: , lit. 'Army for the Defense of Israel'), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Merkava (Hebrew: מֶרְכָּבָה, [mɛʁkaˈva] , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which are the backbone of the IDF's Armored Corps. Current iterations …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkava

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “Cyprus intends to use these tanks to replace its fleet of Russian-made T-80U tanks”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the intention to replace the Russian-made T-80 fleet with Merkava tanks, though one source notes some Cypriot officials have denied the intention.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Cypriot National Guard employs several armoured vehicles in its operations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armoured_vehicles_of_the_Cypri…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 12: “in October 2023, Israel launched its military operation in the Gaza Strip”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple news sources confirm the start of the military operation in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In 1956, the Gaza Strip was captured by Israel from Egypt for a period of four months during the Suez Crisis. Israel returned it back to Egypt in March 1957, due to heavy international pressure. Israe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_occupation_of_the_Gaza…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Israeli Air Force has conducted numerous concerted aerial bombardment campaigns on the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. Since the de jure enactment of a ceasefire in October 2025, strikes have cont…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_bombing_of_the_Gaza_St…

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 13: “Greece offered Cyprus between 75 and 90 used Leopard 1A5 tanks”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly mention Greece's offer of 75-90 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Cyprus.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — These tanks are being used by the European Union Military Assistance Mission in Support of Ukraine (EUMAM UA) to train Ukrainian crews of Leopard 1 tanks provided by several countries as military aid …
https://www.outono.net/elentir/2026/04/03/a-nostalgic-exerci…

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web search NEUTRAL — Leopard 2 MTU diesel powerpack Leopard 2 MTU diesel powerpack. The engine is fed by four fuel tanks (1,160 liters in total) for a maximum road range of about 500 km.
https://tank-afv.com/coldwar/West_Germany/leopard-2.php

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Claim 14: “representatives of the island nation declined to purchase the Greek Leopards”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources report that Cyprus declined the Greek Leopard tanks because they did not meet operational requirements.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2026 BYD FangChengBao Leopard 5 31.8 kWh I Рестайлинг, серый, 7590099 рублей, вид 5. Только на Авто.ру.
https://auto.ru/cars/byd/fangchengbao_leopard_5/all/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The almost unrecognizable appearance of the Ukrainian Army's Leopard 1A5 tanks Flakpanzer Gepard, the German vehicle that fights against Russian drones in Ukraine. This model was the first tank manufa…
https://www.outono.net/elentir/2026/04/03/a-nostalgic-exerci…

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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.