Poland formalizes Germany’s request to send tanks to Ukraine

The Polish government has formally asked Germany for permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Poland’s defense minister said on Tuesday, while his German counterpart assured that he would respond soon.

“Germany has already received a request to allow the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine,” Polish Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said in a message posted today on the social network Twitter, in which he calls on Berlin to join the “coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 “”.

According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the Berlin government hopes to resolve “in the coming days” its doubts about sending Leopard 2s to Ukraine, noting that the first step is to prepare an inventory of tanks. currently available.

Once that inventory is done, and “if so,” the issue could be resolved within a few days, Pistorius said in an interview with ZDF TV a few hours before a scheduled meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg this Tuesday. .

Berlin also vowed to “act expeditiously” regarding personnel training and the transport of vehicles, but clarified that the final decision rests with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, citing recent speculation about a possible split within the ruling coalition because of the help Ukrainian authorities have asked for.

Poland already said on Monday that it was going to ask Germany for permission to send the Leopard to Ukraine, but Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki did not specify when the request would be made.

“We will ask for permission, but this is a secondary issue,” Morawiecki told reporters.

“Even if we don’t get permission, we will give our tanks to Ukraine as part of a small coalition, even if Germany is not part of it,” he added.

Poland, which has declared its readiness to supply 14 Leopards to Kyiv, stressed that it is negotiating this issue with about 15 countries.

There is increasing pressure on Germany to hand over its Leopards to Ukraine, which is insistently asking for them, and on Sunday Foreign Minister Annalene Burbock said the country was ready to hand over the tanks, although the German chancellor declined to comment. on the issue.

“If they had approached us with a request, we would not have objected,” said Annalena Burbock.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, “hundreds of tanks, not 10 or 20” are needed to repel Russian aggression and return to the 1991 borders.

In a message posted Monday on the Telegram social network, Andriy Yermak Yermak, chief of staff of the President of Ukraine, assured that only with more tanks and military equipment would it be possible to end the Russian occupation of Crimea.

“That’s why every combat-ready tank should be at the front. [de combate]because this is not just a Ukrainian front, but a front of civilization against barbarism,” he added, noting that the overall goal of democracy is “ensuring stable development.”

The Leopard 2 is regarded by its manufacturer, the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), as “the world’s premier tank”, combining firepower, protection, speed and maneuverability, making it adaptable to many types of combat situations. .