Germany sends Leopard tanks into Ukraine in Schulze U-turn

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Germany will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, in a move that marks a significant breakthrough in Western efforts to bolster Kyiv’s fight against the Russian military.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed that Germany would send the tanks, although he did not provide details on the number and type of tanks under consideration.

A report in German news outlet Spiegel Online, which first reported the German move, said Berlin would send at least a company of Leopard 2A6s — usually about 14 tanks. She said they would come from German army stocks.

Officials said Berlin would give the green light to Poland’s request to send some of its own tigers to Ukraine.

The decision to send tanks represented a new turn for German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, who had long hesitated to supply heavy armor to Ukraine, fearing that this would increase the risk of direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

He also stressed that Germany would not act alone when it came to tanks and insisted that it would only act closely with its allies, particularly the United States.

Relations between Berlin and Washington soured last week after a number of media outlets reported that Schulz said Germany would not send tanks to Ukraine unless the United States did the same. German officials later denied that such a “link” existed.

However, recent developments indicate that after days of intense consultations, the US and Germany have agreed to work in coordination on tanks. This would mirror a similar move by the two countries in early January, when they jointly announced that they would supply infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine – American-made Bradleys and German Marders.

On Tuesday, two US officials said America is actively considering sending its own Abrams tanks to Ukraine, having previously been skeptical of such a move because of the challenges it would entail from a logistical and training standpoint. The Biden administration has faced mounting pressure from both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill to send in Abrams in an effort to break Germany’s resistance to sending in its own tanks. The White House and Pentagon declined to comment.

Pressure on Schultz to rethink his stance on tanks has intensified over the past few weeks, but came to a head last Friday after a meeting of Western defense officials at the US air base Ramstein in western Germany called for increased military aid to Ukraine.

It was expected that Germany would announce at Rammstein that it would send tanks into Kyiv – or at least allow others to do so. Scholz has the power to grant or withhold permission for 13 countries across Europe that use the Leopard 2 for re-export to Ukraine. However, the meeting failed to lead to a breakthrough.

Schultz was then subjected to a barrage of criticism from Germany’s allies, especially in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, who urged him to show leadership on the issue. His coalition partners, the Greens and Liberals, have also criticized him for failing to respond to Ukraine’s demands.

“I hope the Germans will respond quickly this time. They are dragging their feet and behaving in a way that is difficult to understand,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said earlier on Tuesday.

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Russia warned of unspecified consequences in response to any possible tank move. “Relationships have already reached a very low point and there is no indication of any substantive dialogue with Germany and other countries in the European Union and NATO,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said on Tuesday, according to Interfax.

“These supplies do not mean anything good for the future of the relationship. They will definitely leave an inevitable mark,” Peskov added.

Separately, Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, noted that growing tensions with the West over Ukraine would have consequences beyond conflict.

Gerasimov, who was named commander of the Russian invasion force as part of a cabinet reshuffle this month, said Moscow had decided to undertake a far-reaching reform and expansion of its military in response to plans by Finland and Sweden to join NATO, as well as what he called “these plans.” “Hybrid war” in Ukraine.

Additional reporting by Barbara Erling in Warsaw and Max Sedon in Riga

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