Germany has announced that it is sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraineas officially announced by government spokesman Stephen Hembestright. Germany will provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2-A6 tanksChancellor Olaf Solz also said during the cabinet meeting, confirming the relevant information that had been leaked since yesterday, Tuesday, evening.

According to Mr. Scholz, the decision is the result of intensive consultations with Germany’s European and international partners and “is in line with our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. We act in close international coordination.” The goal now, the chancellor added, is to rapidly assemble two tank battalions for Ukraine, while the package includes ammunition and tank maintenance. Ukrainian soldiers should be trained in Leopards in GermanyMr. Soltz clarified.

According to the magazine Der Spiegel, the relevant decision was taken yesterday afternoon at the chancellery, after the assurance that the US will also deliver 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Olaf Solz has repeatedly stressed that he insists on “transatlantic harmony” when it comes to the delivery of tanks. He had, however, been severely criticized for his reticence, both by Germany’s allies and within the country.

Spiegel Online reported in its report yesterday that “at least one company of Leopard 2A6s will be delivered. (…) The tanks will come from the stocks of the Bundeswehr. In the medium to long term, other tanks could be prepared for deployment from the industry stockpile.” The German magazine also pointed out that “other allies, including from Scandinavia, also want to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The German government wants to give permission for the export of such tanks belonging to other states, like in Poland”. As RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) commented, “unlike new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who had shown from the beginning his willingness to deliver tanks to Ukraine, Solz resisted for a long time».

At the present time, “the allies, it seems, want to follow through on it. The US is also likely to send tanks, a development that would be a big hit for the chancellor. He will thus have created an impressive alliance of tanks,” commented Handelsblatt, according to the Deutsche Welle. “Now it is important for Soltz to get on his side those citizens who are wary of the delivery of heavy tanks because they fear a dramatic escalation of the war. In retrospect, Scholz’s hesitation probably paid off here as well.”

The majority of German politicians approve of the decision, with the exception of the far-right party AfD, which described the deployment of tanks as “irresponsible and dangerous”, as well as the Left (Die Linke), whose leader said that “by taking down another taboo, we are probably headed closer to a Third World War than to peace in Europe.”