Olav Scholz (Chancellor of Germany) finally decided to provide the Ukrainian armed forces with Leopard 2 main battle tanks.
Germany will issue as well the appropriate transfer permits to partner countries that want to quickly deliver Leopard 2 tanks from their stocks to Ukraine.
“This is the result”, says the official communication published today by the office of the Chancellor, “of intensive consultations that took place with Germany’s closest European and international partners.”
Olaf Scholz announced as well in the cabinet that Germany will continue to increase military support for Ukraine.
“This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. We are acting in a closely coordinated manner internationally,” said the Chancellor in Berlin.
Further than tanks, also training, logistics , ammunition and maintenance
The goal is to quickly assemble two tank battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine. As a first step, Germany will provide a company with 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from Bundeswehr stocks. The training of the Ukrainian crews is to begin quickly in Germany. In addition to training, the package will also include logistics, ammunition and system maintenance.
Other European partners will also hand over Leopard-2 tanks explains the communication from the Chancellor’s office.
Poland, is the first EU country that has made the decission to send their tanks to Ukraine meeting the demand of modern offensive weapons made by President Zelenskyy last week.
The Minister of Defense and the Minister speaker for the Government of Spain have confirmed as well that will send some Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite the eager opposition of the most leftwinged part of the Government coalition.
Poland has already sent to the Government of Germany the official request for the needed permission to export the tanks legally.
UK will provide 14 of their Challenger 2 main battle tanks and USA matures sending their Abrams M1
Like the USA France is still thinking about sending their Leclerc tanks.
Impossible to justify such step using arguments about “defensive weapons”, Anatoli Antónov says
“If the United States decides to supply tanks, it will be impossible to justify such step using arguments about “defensive weapons”. This would be another blatant provocation against the Russian Federation. No one should have illusions about who is the real aggressor in the current conflict, this said Anatoli Antónov (Ambassador of The Russian Federation in the United States).
“If a decision to transfer to Kiev M1 Abrams is made, American tanks without any doubt will be destroyed as all other samples of NATO military equipment,” He added today to the declarations made by him yesterday.
“Throughout the Ukrainian crisis, the administration repeatedly used the technique of publishing information in the media on the eve of significant deliveries of weapons and equipment to the Kiev regime. An analysis of the entire sequence of Washington’s actions shows that the Americans are constantly raising the “bar” of military assistance to their puppet government. This is especially clear when the Russian Armed Forces gain new victories and confidently liberate the territory of Russia from the Nazi threat.””…Obviously, Washington is deliberately trying to inflict strategic defeat on us. It gives “green light” to use of American assistance for attacks on the Crimea. It covers crimes committed by radicals against population of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. A growing number of officials and experts in America admit: it is all about U.S. “proxy-war” with our country”, Antónov said as well.
Image over the headline.- The Leopar2 A6 Panzer tank. Image by Bundeswehr-Fotos through Wikimedia Commons. To watch the original photos and read the terms of the lisense, click here
Related External links:
Declarations to the press by Anatoli Antónov
Official communicarion releases by the Office of German Chancellor, olav Scholz
Tweets thanking Germany:
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Poland’s PM Mateusz Morawiecki
