German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has agreed to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks, according to media reports, after weeks of mounting pressure on Berlin to give Kyiv the heavier weapons it says it needs to drive back invading Russian forces.
The news that Berlin will provide battle tanks to Kyiv comes as officials in the United States told media that Washington was also poised to start a process that would eventually send dozens of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine’s front lines.
The Spiegel media outlet, which first reported the news of Scholz agreeing to provide tanks to Ukraine, said Germany would provide at least one company of Leopard 2A6 tanks out of the German army’s — the Bundeswehr’s — stocks.
The Kremlin has said supplying tanks to Ukraine would not change matters and that the West would regret its “delusion” that Kyiv could win on the battlefield against Russia.
Russia’s ambassador to the US said the possible delivery of Abrams tanks to Kyiv by Washington would be “another blatant provocation” against Moscow.
By agreeing to send Abrams tanks, the US administration appears to be meeting the German Chancellor’s demand that Germany needed to be in lockstep with Washington.
Kane said that while the German government has been prepared to provide Ukraine with armoured personnel carriers and its own form of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence systems, there was reluctance to send the Leopard 2 battle tank, an offensive weapon.
Of the 14 European states that have Leopard tanks, only Finland and Poland had so far publicly signalled their willingness to deliver them to Ukraine
USA
UK
France
India
Russia
Australia
Canada