Berlin will not interfere if Warsaw supplies its German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. This was announced on January 22 by German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock on the air of the French TV channel LCI.
“At present, this question has not been asked, however, if we were asked, we would not stand in the way,” Burbock answered the question of what would happen if Poland supplied Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks without German approval.
Earlier in the day, Michael McCall, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Relations, said that the supply of even one American Abrams tank to Ukraine is enough for Europe to start sending German Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. According to him, Germany is waiting for the American side to take on take the initiative.
According to international rules, no state can transfer weapons to another without the consent of the country of manufacture. Meanwhile, on January 22, Warsaw announced its intention to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine even without Germany’s permission.
As Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki explained, if Berlin does not agree to the supply of these tanks, then Warsaw will create a smaller coalition of states ready to share with Ukraine not only Leopard 2, but also other armored vehicles.
On January 20, at a meeting of NATO allies at the Ramstein base in Germany, a decision was not made on the supply of Leopard 2, since the member countries of the alliance did not come to a consensus on this issue. As the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, pointed out, the decision was not made because of the position of Germany.
Earlier, on January 18, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper wrote that Berlin was ready to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv only on the condition that Washington, in turn, would supply Ukraine with its Abrams tanks.
The next day, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that Washington currently sees no point in supplying Ukraine with Abrams tanks due to the high cost and complexity of maintaining this equipment.
Against the backdrop of a discussion about Western supplies, military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia on January 20 about the complete destruction of stocks of Soviet equipment in Ukraine. According to him, since the beginning of the special operation, Kyiv has disposed of not only what was listed behind them, but also what the countries of Eastern Europe supplied.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to hold it was made against the backdrop of the aggravated situation in the region due to increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
