According to news sources, Berlin will deploy combat tanks to Ukraine and permit other nations to reexport tanks built in Germany to Kyiv.
After weeks of rising pressure on Berlin to provide Kyiv with the more powerful armaments it claims Ukraine needs to repel invading Russian soldiers, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has agreed to equip Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks, according to media sources.
According to unnamed government sources cited by German media on Tuesday, Berlin has also authorised the re-export of tanks produced in Germany to other nations, including Poland and Finland.
In general, before exporting military equipment acquired from Germany to another nation, the purchasing nation must have approval from Berlin.
Germany would deploy at least one company of Leopard 2A6 tanks from the Bundeswehr, the German army, according to a report by the media outlet Spiegel.
The German government did not respond right away.
Scholz had defied calls to send tanks to Kyiv from a rising number of people for months, including NATO allies, members of Scholz’ coalition government, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Zelenskyy adopted a particularly harsh stance, claiming that Berlin’s inaction was costing Ukrainian lives.
Reporting for Al Jazeera from Berlin, Dominic Kane said the Leopard tanks might give the Ukrainian army an edge over the Russian army.
“The main battle tank Leopard 2 is heavier and faster than many of the tanks the Russian army has in Ukraine, which is an important distinction to keep in mind,” he added while speaking from Berlin.
Additionally, numerous different European Union nations possess specific models of Leopard 2 tanks. The underlying idea is simple: There are many of them, both in NATO and in EU member countries.
The leopard is now free! Katrin Goring-Eckardt, vice president of the Bundestag, tweeted something.
Now let’s hope it can quickly assist Ukraine in its struggle to defend itself from the Russian onslaught and to preserve its and Europe’s freedom.
Only Finland and Poland, out of the 14 European nations that own Leopard tanks, have officially stated their willingness to transfer them to Ukraine thus far.
In order to defend itself against Russian intruders, Ukraine has not received any big tanks of Western design. However, the UK has committed to providing 14 Challenger tanks.
Ukraine has so far only obtained Soviet-made tanks that were previously owned by NATO nations in Eastern Europe.
It wasn’t immediately apparent how many Leopards Berlin was transferring to Ukraine. Der Spiegel, however, said that the choice involved at least one company of the newest Leopard 2A6 tanks. In most cases, equipping a company entails transferring more than 14 tanks.
RESOURCES: NEWSPAPERS AND AL JAZEERA
