Berlin.
The federal government now wants to deliver Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. Is Germany a war party? The most important questions.
Germany hesitated, Poland pushed forward: In the tank question the Europeans were recently divided. Now Germany wants to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine, as does the USA. How did that happen?
Is Germany now a war party?
no Germany wants the Ukrainian army a company Leopard 2 tank handed over – that would be 14 Leopard tanks. It should be the modern variant 2A6. In the previous months, the federal government had sent a large number of heavy weapons to Ukraine, including the 20000 self-propelled howitzer and the Iris-T air defense system.
The Federal Republic is not yet a party to the war. It transports the military equipment to Ukraine so that the country can defend itself in the Russian war of aggression. Germany does not send any soldiers of its own. No Bundeswehr pilots fly machines in action over the Ukraine. The situation could only change if Russia were to attack a NATO country. Then Germany would be obliged to provide assistance according to Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
Also read: Why the Leopard tank costs several million euros
Why is Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivering Leopard tanks now of all times?
Shortly after the war began in March 2022, Ukraine received the first request western battle tanks posed. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was very reserved for a long time. Important guidelines for him: Germany must not become a war party. An escalation with an expansion of the war must be prevented.
As the manufacturer of the Leopard tank, Germany is particularly exposed to Russia, the Chancellor said. All of the federal government’s actions must be closely coordinated with international partners, above all with the Americans.
The decisive moment for Scholz was probably a Telephone call with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday last week. During the conversation, the American is said to have promised to consider supplying Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine. Recently, there have been increasing reports in the US media that the United States is sending 30 to 50 Abrams tanks to Kyiv.
Additional argument: fears are rampant in the West that the exhausted Ukrainian army could be overrun by the Russians in a spring offensive.
Britain had previously announced that it would send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. Poland had signaled that it would send 14 Leopard tanks.
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So why is the US sending main battle tanks after all?
The Pentagon refused for a long time. At the beginning of last week, US Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl emphasized that Abrams tank are too expensive, too difficult to maintain, they guzzle too much turbine fuel for jet propulsion. In addition, the training takes too long. American military experts also pointed out that the Abrams tanks are not at all compatible with Leopard models when it comes to the supply of spare parts.
In the end, President Biden managed to send a political signal: The transatlantic solidarity also works in times of the Ukraine war. Even Republicans like the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, Michael McCaul, demanded that America should send at least one Abrams tank as a “symbolic gesture” to persuade Germany to deliver the Leopard.
Which countries are participating in the battle tank coalition?
- USA: 30 to 50 Abrams tanks.
- Germany: 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks.
- Great Britain: 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks.
- Poland: 14 Leopard tanks.
- Netherlands: 18 Leopard tanks leased from Bundeswehr to be made available to Ukraine.
- Norway: 8 Leopard tanks.
- Finland: unspecified amount of Leopard tanks.
- Portugal: unspecified amount of Leopard tanks.
How is Ukraine reacting?
Differently. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj commented on the Leopard commitment from Berlin reserved: “Many efforts, words, promises.” He was grateful, but Ukraine’s needs were greater than 15 main battle tanks. Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk told our editorial team: “The Ukrainians expect that the Germans will now form and lead this Leopard Alliance in the next few days, so that hundreds of main battle tanks can be deployed to the front as early as March.”
Some of them go demands of the Ukrainians but much further. Melnyk demanded Western fighter jets on Twitter: “And now, dear allies, let’s build a strong fighter jet coalition for Ukraine, with F-16s and F-35s, Eurofighters and Tornados, Rafale and Gripen jets – and everything.” what you can deliver to Ukraine.”
The chancellery chief of President Zelenskyy, Andriy Yermak, also hinted at the possibility of supplying fighter jets. “We will have everything, everything for retaking our territories and for the counter-offensive. Tank drivers will be happy, as will artillerymen and later also pilots.”
By referring to pilots, the head of the Presidential Office anticipated a new discussion that Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had started a few minutes earlier. “Now F-16? Yes! I’ll take care of that,” he wrote on Facebook of a conversation with an unnamed European colleague. In doing so, he revealed the next step of the Ukrainian leadership, which now also wants to endeavor to deliver combat aircraft in the near future.
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