Berlin Poland has promised Ukraine that it will soon deliver western main battle tanks. His country will hand over a “company” of Leopard 2 tanks as part of an international coalition, President Andrzej Duda said in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. There, together with his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nausėda, he met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
According to a Polish military expert, the term “company” includes 14 main battle tanks. Poland has been putting pressure on NATO allies for some time to make Western-style main battle tanks available to Ukraine after the planned delivery of infantry fighting vehicles. These could help the Ukrainian army recapture areas occupied by Russian troops.
Poland has long formulated far more far-reaching war goals than Germany. While Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) emphasizes that Ukraine must be able to defend itself, the government in Warsaw is also concerned with weakening Russia in the long term.
But Poland is not alone in its push. According to media reports, the British government is considering the delivery of Challenger 2 main battle tanks. “It is clear that main battle tanks could bring crucial capabilities to the Ukrainians and the Prime Minister told President Zelensky last week that Britain will provide what it can.” , a spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told journalists in London on Wednesday.
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He also said Britain would accelerate its support for Kyiv and provide the country with “the kind of military technology that will help win the war.”
Pressure on Germany is growing
This also increases the pressure on Germany, which has so far not been willing to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) declared on Tuesday evening after a visit to eastern Ukraine that the Ukrainian army needed additional tank deliveries to liberate other areas.
At the same time, however, she defended the federal government’s line of only making decisions about deliveries in close consultation with the allies. “Even if your heart is burning,” it is important to consider together how responsible steps can be taken, she said in the ARD “Tagesthemen”.
On January 20, around 50 nations supporting Ukraine want to vote again on further aid at the US air force base in Ramstein. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit dampened expectations on Wednesday that the federal government’s position could change by then. “I don’t think that’s very likely at the moment,” he said before the federal press conference. With the announced delivery of armored personnel carriers, Germany and the USA have already taken a “very qualitative further step”.
Germany plans to deliver up to 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine by the end of March. The USA are providing Bradley armored personnel carriers of a similar magnitude. A spokesman for the US Department of Defense said on Tuesday that there is an ongoing dialogue with the government in Kyiv and international partners about what Ukraine needs and how it can be further supported. The Ukrainian army will continue to be equipped with the capabilities it needs to defend its country and retake occupied territory.
>> Read here: Counter-offensives, air supremacy, cyber combat: what is important in the Ukraine war now
As has been heard from security circles, Ukraine has renewed its desire for Western main battle tanks at the political level in the past few days. There are already talks with the industry.
Industry can upgrade decommissioned tanks
Leopard tanks for Ukraine could be assembled from different countries using the weapon system. In addition to Poland, Spain has also agreed to make a delivery. Since the tanks come from German production, the federal government would have to agree.
In Germany, the armaments companies Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann have a few dozen decommissioned tanks of the type, but they first have to be repaired. This would take a few months, probably the tanks would not be available until mid-year. The costs should be in the three-digit million range.
Government spokesman Hebestreit emphasized that he has not yet received any inquiries from partners who themselves want to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Nothing has changed at the stand, he said to corresponding press reports.
>> Read here: Poland accuses Germany of “breach of word” on tank deliveries – that’s behind it
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Wednesday he expected a decision on the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to be made in a few weeks. “I think it’s pretty well known what Ukraine needs,” he told reporters in Stockholm. Each country will now try to decide what it can do.
The needs of one’s own armed forces, but also the regulations and decisions of the partner countries, must be taken into account. That’s why you will have to wait “a few more weeks”. Kristersson was also alluding to the necessary export license from the federal government, without which no Leopard tank can be delivered to the Ukraine. Sweden itself has customized Leopard models called Stridsvagn 121 and 122.
With agency material
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