Berlin.
The Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk calls for “a broad tank alliance” – including German Leopard main battle tanks.
The first major political test of the new Secretary of Defense Boris Pistorius (SPD) takes place in Rhineland-Palatinate. At the meeting of the Ukraine supporters on Friday in Ramstein, the pressure on the federal government to also deliver Leopard main battle tanks to Kyiv will increase.
“For the next Ramstein meeting, we hope that our allies will take new bold steps to qualitatively increase the combat effectiveness of the Ukrainian army,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk our editorial team. “The Ukrainians are calling on our Western partners to launch a broad armored alliance, with the Leopards, Abrams and Challenger as the core.”
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So far, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had Delivery of Leopard main battle tanks to the Ukraine, saying that Germany “does not want to go it alone” on this issue. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced that he would send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine.
Melnyk also has specific demands with regard to Christine Lambrecht’s (SPD) successor. “The Ukrainians expect that the new German defense minister will finally implement the announced turning point and the decision of the Bundestag of April 28, 2022 on heavy weapons for Ukraine without ifs and buts, unreservedly and without any delay,” said the Deputy Foreign Minister, who previously was his country’s ambassador in Berlin for more than seven years. There should be “no more – self-drawn – red lines”.
Poland, Lithuania, Finland: Chancellor to approve delivery of Leopard tanks quickly
The US also expects that in Ramstein further arms shipments be decided. “We anticipate an expansion of Western military aid to Ukraine – the supply of main battle tanks is part of the discussion,” a senior US diplomat told our editorial team. The dispatch of American battle tanks of the Abrams type is also on the agenda, at least in the medium term. A meeting between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Pistorius is planned for Thursday in Berlin.
The pressure on Berlin is also growing in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. The presidents of Poland and Lithuania, as well as the Finnish foreign minister, urged Chancellor Scholz at the World Economic Forum in Davos to quickly authorize the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
Es-General Domröse awaits confirmation of Leopard shipment
Former Bundeswehr General Hans-Lothar Domröse assumes that Germany will send Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. “I expect that the federal government will make the commitment to deliver Leopard main battle tanks at the meeting of Ukraine supporters on Friday in Ramstein,” Domröse told our editorial team. “The federal government cannot afford not to supply Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. Poland, Finland and Spain want to do this. If the federal government were to refuse approval for this, it would be against Europe.”
He is assuming that Germany “will not only allow its European partners to ship the battle tanks, but will even add ‘Leos’ from the Bundeswehr’s inventory – perhaps in the low double-digit range”.
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