Berlin assures that it will not oppose the delivery of the Leopard II models if a partner country requests it
Poland increased pressure on Germany on Monday to start delivering tanks to Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has confirmed that he will formally request permission from Berlin to send Leopard II tanks to the country. These models are German-made, so they need the approval of the German authorities for their delivery and everything indicates that they will authorize it, at least that’s what their Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, assured this weekend.
Warsaw is one of the capitals most willing to deliver heavy weapons and tanks to the Ukrainian Army. There are already nine NATO countries that advocate giving Ukraine all the necessary equipment to carry out a counteroffensive in the country. Denmark, Slovakia, Estonia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic have already expressed their intention to increase arms shipments to Ukraine and are in favor of supplying their Army with tanks. In addition, Finland has announced the shipment of military equipment worth 400 million euros.
In this context, Poland has been one of the countries that has raised its tone the most against Germany and has even threatened to send tanks without its consent. Finally, however, the Polish authorities have opted for diplomacy and will formally request their authorization – although they have not given a date on when they will present the request – which will increase international pressure on Berlin. Germany, for its part, has opened the door to allowing partner countries to give kyiv the tanks they need: “They have not asked us the question so far, but if they do, we will not oppose it,” Baerbock declared on Sunday. .
The EU foreign ministers have agreed to expand the European Peace Mechanism by 500 million euros, a fund intended to send weapons to Ukraine. Community leaders have spent several weeks trying to convince European countries of the need to mobilize more resources because the war is entering “at a decisive moment.” Despite Hungary’s threat of a veto, the EU has managed to unblock this new tranche of aid, which brings the funds earmarked for the delivery of weapons to kyiv to 3.6 billion.
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