Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has confirmed the delivery of 18 Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. At the same time, the German government condemned Moscow’s plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Despite threats of sanctions from the West, Russia wants to stick to it. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again accused the Kremlin of terrorizing the civilian population in his country.
Ukraine received 18 modern Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks from Germany. “Yes, we delivered the Leopard tanks as announced,” said Scholz (SPD) on Monday in Rotterdam. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) announced that the federal government had promised a battle group together with Sweden and Portugal. Pistorius explained: “In order to redeem this, Germany even delivered four more tanks than initially planned.” In addition, his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Resnikov confirmed receipt of the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle.
Experts assume that the Leopard 2 is clearly superior in combat against Russian armored troops. One reason is that he can also shoot while moving, but the T-72, which is often used by Russia, has to stand still for the shot.
Berlin: Putin’s rhetoric is irresponsible
Meanwhile, the German government has sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric regarding nuclear weapons. This is “irresponsible”. A spokeswoman for the Federal Foreign Office said on Monday at the federal press conference in Berlin. “Of course, we will not let this deter us from our course of supporting Ukraine in its self-defense.” A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defense added that Putin’s announcement did not change the assessment of the situation.
Putin announced the stationing on Saturday. According to them, Belarus already has 10 converted aircraft capable of carrying these weapons. In addition, the country will receive Iskander missiles that can be equipped with nuclear warheads. The Russian President had also stressed that Moscow would stick to its commitments to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. You would only be accused in Belarus that Russia is not giving up control – and is doing nothing different than the USA in EU countries.
Despite threats of sanctions, the Kremlin is sticking to its plans
Moscow does not want to be deterred by the threat of sanctions from the West. That could “of course have no influence on Russia’s plans,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday about possible punitive measures. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had previously called on Belarus to give up nuclear weapons and otherwise threatened sanctions in response. He criticized the Russian plans as “irresponsible escalation” and a threat to European security. (dpa)
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