A Leopard 2 tank during a demonstration event in Munster near Hannover. Photo / AP
A Leopard 2 tank during a demonstration event in Munster near Hannover. Photo / AP
Germany refused to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after an “historic” summit failed to bridge deep divides with the US and other allies.
Despite five hours of talks and concerted pressure from the US, Britain, France, Spain, Finland and Poland, Germany dashed hopes of a breakthrough to bolster Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s forces.
”We still cannot say when a decision will be taken, and what the decision will be, when it comes to the Leopard tank,” German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius told reporters following talks between defence ministers from 50 nations.
Kyiv has repeatedly urged its allies to send battle tanks, in particular the German-built Leopard 2 to help turn the tide of the war. Germany has so far refused to send any of its own tanks or clear the way for other armies to send them, but Pistorius yesterday said the idea that Germany was “standing in the way” of “a united coalition” was wrong.
Fifteen countries that operate the Leopard 2 discussed the dispute at the meeting, and Pistorius took care not to rule out the tanks being delivered at a later date. He said he had ordered the ministry to look into Germany’s tank stocks so he could be prepared for a possible green light and be able to “act immediately”.
”I am very sure that there will be a decision in the short-term, but I don’t know how the decision will look,” he said. It could take “a day, a week or a month” to come to a verdict, he added.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius attends a military welcome ceremony at the Defence Ministry in Berlin. Photo / AP
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has so far refused to grant export licenses to the European countries that want to send their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, including Poland and Finland, for fear of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin into spreading the war to the West.
Officials in Kyiv said the meeting at Ramstein in Germany was not the end of discussions and that they were confident Germany would agree to release the tanks in the coming days or weeks.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said they could be on the battlefield within two months if the decision was made now, and that Ukraine could win the war “this year” if enough were delivered.
Earlier in the week, Scholz told US President Joe Biden he would only allow Leopards to be delivered if Biden sent Ukraine M1 Abrams tanks, which Washington has ruled out because they are costly and hard to maintain.
The US confirmed yesterday that it would not send Abrams, but Pistorius appeared to U-turn by saying Germany could send its Leopard 2 without the US going first. The decisions were “not linked”, he said.
As the summit at the Ramstein US air base began, President Zelenskyy made an impassioned plea for Berlin to back down in the stand-off, which German media dubbed “Panzer poker”.
”We have to speed up. Time must become our weapon, just like air defence and artillery, armoured vehicles and tanks, which we are negotiating about with you and which will actually make a victory,” Zelenskyy said via video link.”You can start this policy today.”
Kyiv has been calling for the powerful Leopard 2 to press offensives against Russian troops, who are feared to be preparing for a fresh onslaught in Ukraine after the winter.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who convened the talks, added: “Russia is regrouping, recruiting and trying to re-equip. This is not a moment to slow down. It is a time to dig deeper.” As news of the failure at the summit spread, there were protests outside the Chancellery in Berlin.
Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British Army, said: “This is a real opportunity missed for Germany to have made a positive contribution to the security of Europe. If we want to see Ukraine winning on the battlefield, they need heavy armour.”
A US official told the AP there was some bewilderment in the Biden administration over the German position, since Britain, another Nato ally, has already agreed to provide Challenger 2 tanks.
After the meeting, the US Defense Secretary sought to play down the rift and described Germany as a “reliable ally”. Asked by a reporter if Germany was doing enough to show “real leadership” in Europe, Austin replied: “Yes, but we can all do more. They are a reliable ally and they’ve been that way for a very, very long time,” he said. “And I truly believe that they’ll continue to be a reliable ally going forward.”
Poland Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the meeting was a “good discussion among allies” and that the issue of the Leopard 2s would be discussed again in future talks. Warsaw has promised Kyiv a company of 14 Leopard 2s if other countries also supply the tanks. Blaszczak said that Poland would provide Ukraine with additional Soviet-made T-72 tanks and some infantry vehicles.
Poland hinted it could be prepared to deliver its Leopard 2s without Berlin’s permission, but said after the meeting it was “confident” it would eventually get the green light from Germany.
Zbigniew Rau, Poland’s foreign minister, said: “Ukrainian blood is shed for real. This is the price of hesitation over Leopard deliveries. We need action now.”
”Poland can start to train Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard 2 tanks if they want to,” Pistorius said in comments that suggest a possible German climb-down in the future.
The Kremlin has warned delivering the battle tanks would be an “extremely dangerous” escalation. A Kremlin spokesman said: “These tanks will require both maintenance and repairs, and so on, so will add to Ukraine’s problems, but will not change anything with regard to the Russian side achieving its goals.” Meanwhile, the US is advising Kyiv to hold off launching a major offensive against Russian troops until the latest supplies of US weapons are in place.
The US last night released photographs from November showing North Korea supplying weapons, such as infantry rockets and missiles, to Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries.
