Germany announced today, Wednesday, that it will send "Leopard 2" tanks to Ukraine, thus overcoming its reluctance to send heavy weapons that Kyiv considers necessary to defeat Russia, amid Kyiv's welcome, which it considered a "first step."
"The decision complements our well-known support for Ukraine to the best of our ability. We are acting in a closely coordinated manner at the international level," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement.
He added that Ukrainian forces would be trained in Germany, and Berlin would also provide logistical materials and ammunition, and that his country would provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its army stocks.
"The decision to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine came after extensive consultations with the allies," the German statement said.
Ukrainian welcome
In turn, the German Minister of Defense stated that the "Leopard" tanks will not be operational in Ukraine 3 or 4 months ago, indicating that his country "will not become a party to the war and will make sure of that."
The Ukrainian presidency welcomed Berlin's agreement to deliver 14 Leopard tanks, which it considered a "first step", and called on Western countries to provide it with more weapons to repel the Russian army.
"A first step has been taken," Andrei Yermak, head of the presidential administration, said on Telegram, demanding that an international "coalition" supply heavy tanks to Kyiv. "We need a large number of Leopard tanks," he added.
For his part, in the first comment on Germany's decision to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that "the right decision has been taken."
While the Prime Minister of Poland confirmed that Germany sent "Leopard" tanks to Ukraine, a big step to stop Russia.
For its part, the French presidency welcomed the German decision, noting that this encourages its plans to send AMX10-RC tanks.
In a related context, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands announced that his country might buy the tanks it rented from Germany to send to Ukraine. Finland also confirmed its readiness for the same thing.
months of discussions
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided, after several months of discussions, to supply Ukraine with "Leopard-2" combat tanks.
Yesterday, sources told the German news agency that Schultz agreed to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, noting that he had granted permission to re-export Leopard tanks to Kiev.
For its part, the newspaper "Der Spiegel" reported that the talk is about at least one group of "Leopard-2A6" tanks, and the desire of other allies, including the Scandinavian countries, to deliver these combat tanks to Kyiv.