Berlin Germany.- The meeting of Western countries allied to Ukraine closed this Friday without reaching an agreement on the shipment of German Leopard 2 tanks that the former Soviet republic vehemently demands to face the Russian invasion.
The Germans “did not make a decision on the Leopard tanks,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declared after a meeting of senior military officials from some 50 countries at the US Ramstein base in Germany.
According to experts, the Leopard 2 could have a major impact on the fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has recently intensified its offensive after suffering several setbacks.
Poland and Finland have indicated that they could send the Leopard 2s they have at their disposal, if Berlin gives them the go-ahead. But it is unknown if Germany will finally give its consent.
“Before taking such a decision, we have a responsibility to think carefully about the consequences for all parties to the conflict,” said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
“The impression that Germany is opposed to the delivery of tanks to Ukraine is false.”
According to analysts, Berlin’s reluctance is largely due to fear of unleashing an escalation of war with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, beginning a bloody conflict with no end in sight.
The United States refused to blame the failure of the negotiations on Germany.
“We can all do more for Ukraine,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, adding that Germany is “a reliable ally.”
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, did not give up and assured that the western countries will have “no other alternative” than to send the tanks that they demand.
Western powers fear that, despite Ukrainian assurances, kyiv will provoke an escalation by using these weapons to strike inside Russian territory and air and naval bases on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.
The Kremlin assured before the meeting that the delivery of heavy tanks would create new problems for Ukraine.”
kyiv counteroffensive
Lloyd Austin indicated that Ukraine could launch a counter-offensive around next spring and that the allies should prepare to support it.
“We have a window of opportunity from now until spring. It’s not a long time and we have to unite our best capabilities,” he said.
“Even so, the war will go on for a long time,” warned the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley.
“From a military point of view, I still maintain that this year it will be very, very difficult to completely drive the Russian forces out of all the occupied areas of Ukraine.”
The United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark announced new military aid for kyiv before the meeting in Ramstein.
Washington has unlocked a new package worth $2.5 billion, which includes 59 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and a large number of armored personnel carriers, according to the Pentagon.
However, this new support does not include heavy tanks, such as the Abrams, which Washington refuses to hand over to kyiv citing maintenance and training reasons.
Britain will send an additional 600 Brimstone-type missiles, Denmark 19 Caesar guns and Sweden Archer long-range guns. Finland joined this new aid on Friday, with a package that will include heavy artillery and ammunition.
