Poland wants to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and is now submitting an official application to the German government. The pressure on Chancellor Scholz is increasing. The Kremlin warns Berlin.
Warsaw – Poland has asked the German government for approval for the delivery of German-made Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.
“I also appeal to the German side to join the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks,” Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter. It’s about the security of all of Europe. According to dpa information, the Polish application from the federal government was already available.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expects a quick decision on German involvement in the Leopard delivery. “I expect that a decision will be made shortly,” said the SPD politician in Berlin at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
In an ongoing inventory, questions such as supplies, maintenance, repair and supply of the weapon systems would be examined in a possible deployment. “We are preparing for all of that now. And in the event of a positive decision, we will be able to act very quickly,” said Pistorius.
Kremlin warns Germany against supplying tanks to Ukraine
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has warned of a further deterioration in German-Russian relations should the German government have Leopard main battle tanks delivered to Ukraine. “Such deliveries do not bode well for the future of relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. They would leave inevitable traces. The relationship is already at a certain low point.
There is currently no dialogue either with Berlin or with other EU and NATO countries, said Peskow. In the past, Moscow had repeatedly criticized Western arms deliveries to Ukraine as an escalation in the war. Last week, however, the spokesman for Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin also said that even Western battle tanks could not prevent Russia from achieving its war goals. In his view, they would only prolong the suffering of civilians. dpa
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