Other allies – including from Scandinavia – would also like to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. Berlin also wants to grant approval for the export of such tanks that are owned by other countries, the “Spiegel” also reported. A government spokesman declined to comment on the information.
A little later, the dpa also reported on the government decision, citing “coalition circles”. Even if the decision is not yet official, it was immediately welcomed by the coalition partners FDP and Greens as well as opposition leader and CDU leader Friedrich Merz. The right-wing populist AfD criticized the decision that Scholz should make official on Wednesday. Andryy Yermak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on Telegram that the “hundreds of tanks” would be “a heavy blow to democracy and against Russian autocracy”.
Earlier, the German government had announced that it wanted to make a quick decision on the application submitted by Poland to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Since the Leopard is German-made, approval from Berlin is required before Poland can hand over its tanks to Ukraine.
Possible US tank delivery crucial?
For days, allies and Ukraine have been urging Berlin to deliver such tanks, which are considered crucial for Ukraine by spring at the latest, to Kyiv. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has hesitated so far. Scholz had always insisted that the United States also deliver tanks to Ukraine. The US government announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would now examine the delivery of its own Abrams main battle tanks. An announcement of the pledge of “a larger number” of American M1 Abrams to ward off Russia’s war of aggression could come later this week, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to this, US President Joe Biden Scholz is said to have promised in a telephone call last week to have such a delivery checked.
The USA had previously emphasized that it did not consider the provision of the Abrams tank to be sensible for practical reasons. According to the Pentagon, the US tanks would have to be transported across the Atlantic, maintenance would be more complex and they would consume too much fuel.
In addition to the historically justified hesitation and rejection of Germany going it alone, Scholz always justified himself by saying that he did not want to help the war escalate into a conflict between Russia and NATO. In the German “traffic light coalition” with the Greens and the FDP, however, he is alone in the field, which resulted in a tangible coalition dispute in Berlin. Because the Greens and FDP spoke out vehemently for the tank delivery.
“Won’t stand in the way”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had already expressed her openness to allowing Leopard tanks to be exported from Poland. In an interview with the French television station LCI, Baerbock said that Berlin would not oppose Poland supplying Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. “If you ask us, we wouldn’t stand in the way of that,” Baerbock said.
On Friday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced that Ukrainian soldiers would be trained on Leopard tanks in Poland. Reznikov told the US foreign broadcaster Voice of America that countries “that already have Leopard tanks can begin training missions for our tank crews”.
Stoltenberg also demands delivery
During a visit to Berlin on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also called for the delivery of new weapons. “At this crucial moment in the war, we need to provide Ukraine with heavier and more advanced systems, and we need to do it faster,” Stoltenberg said after talks with new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) in Berlin.
“The only way to a lasting peace is to make it clear to Putin that he will not win on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg said. Ukrainian forces would need to be able to repel the Russians “Not just to survive, but to win, retake territory and exist as a sovereign, independent state in Europe.”
Poland wants to deliver tanks to Ukraine
Germany is under pressure to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Now Poland wants to send these German-made tanks to the Ukraine immediately and has officially applied for the export.
Stoltenberg acknowledged the help that Germany has provided to Ukraine so far. Among Ukraine’s allies, Berlin provides the “most extensive military, financial and humanitarian support” to Kyiv, he said. “Weapons from Germany save lives in Ukraine every day.” Regarding the delivery of Leopard main battle tanks, he was also “confident that we will soon have a solution”.
Pistorius: “Decision soon”
Pistorius also promised that Germany would make a quick decision on the delivery of the Leopard main battle tanks. “I expect that a decision will be made shortly,” said Pistorius after the conversation with Stoltenberg. He “expressly encouraged” other partner countries that already had battle tanks of this model to start training Ukrainian soldiers on them.
The query of the leopard stocks he initiated on Friday is “nearly complete,” said Pistorius before the decision became known. It is “not about counting how many tanks we have, we know that”. Rather, the federal government wants to examine “stocks and potential” of the armaments industry and examine the compatibility of the Leopard tanks. Germany will be “capable of acting very quickly”.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin warned of a further deterioration in German-Russian relations if the German government were to have Leopard main battle tanks delivered to Ukraine. “Such deliveries do not bode well for the future of relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency Interfax.
