According to Ukraine, it needs “several hundred” battle tanks for the intended reconquest of the areas occupied by Russia.
“Every tank that is capable of fighting must be on our front today,” wrote Presidential Office Chief Andriy Yermak on Monday on the Telegram news channel. The decision on a delivery of Leopard main battle tanks from Germany to Ukraine remained open on Monday.
Without a victory for Ukraine with a return to the 1991 borders and punishment for Russia, there will be neither stable development nor a clear world order, Yermak argued. “This is a front of civilization against backwardness and barbarism from the swamps,” emphasized the 51-year-old, referring to Moscow. Ukraine has been repelling a Russian invasion for almost eleven months. Financially and in terms of armaments, Kyiv is almost completely dependent on the West.
Stoltenberg: The Allies must deliver more
During the debate, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized the unity of the alliance and once again called for more arms deliveries. Since the beginning of the war almost a year ago, there has been “an unprecedented level of support” in the alliance, including Germany, Stoltenberg said on Monday on the Welt TV station when asked whether the alliance was in a crucial phase of the war war divided. There is now a consultation process on what kind of equipment should be supplied to Ukraine. Sometimes it also takes some time to consult confidentially with the Allies.
Asked if he would welcome German agreement to Poland’s announced supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said: “My message is that the Allies have to supply more, have to supply heavier equipment, equipment, combat systems for Ukraine. And that is absolutely necessary.” He welcomes all the announcements made by the Allies about battle tanks. “So if we really want to have a solution where Ukraine survives as a sovereign country and a free country, then it’s absolutely essential to act like that.” Of course, most wars end at the negotiating table. But Ukraine’s position and what they can achieve depends directly on what their position on the battlefield is, Stoltenberg said.
Baerbock open to tank delivery through Poland
Most recently, Kyiv had received modernized Soviet-style tanks from the Czech Republic. Great Britain, Poland and Finland offered Kyiv Western tanks, including German-made Leopards. Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been delaying a decision on the delivery of Leopard main battle tanks for weeks.
“The decision-making process is ongoing and we will have to wait and see it now,” said Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Sunday evening on the ARD program “Anne Will”. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock from the Greens was open to a supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine by Poland – whose president she immediately announced.
Pistorius said the decision “depends on many factors” and will be “made in the Chancellery”. Everyone understands the distress Ukraine is currently in. That’s why “there will soon be a decision, whatever it looks like”. “It is absolutely clear that tanks are needed, that offensive movements are needed towards Donbass and Luhansk,” the minister said.
Poland and Finland want to supply Leopard tanks
For Germany, on the one hand, it is a matter of coordinating with the partner countries. This is “above all” the coordination with the USA. At the same time, it is a “heavy armored weapon that can also be used for offensive purposes”. That is why the German federal government must “weigh things up very carefully” and cannot “take hasty or frivolous” decisions.
Poland and Finland have already declared that they want to hand over Leopard tanks from their own stocks to Ukraine so that Kyiv can better defend itself against the Russian attackers. However, since the tanks are German-made, the federal government led by Scholz would have to give their consent.
That will change: Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday that Poland would ask Berlin for permission to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine. “We will apply for such a permit, but that is a secondary issue,” Morawiecki said in Poznań. Even if Poland does not get Berlin’s approval, they want to act within the framework of a small coalition. “If the Germans are not in this coalition, we will still move our tanks to Ukraine together with others,” Morawiecki continued.
Latvian President asks Germany for delivery approval
Latvian President Egils Levits also asked Germany to agree to the delivery. “Everything necessary must be done so that Ukraine can defend itself,” Levits said on Deutschlandfunk on Monday. At the same time, the delivery is also necessary for European security, he stressed. That is an “almost unanimous position in Europe”. Ukraine is “dramatically under pressure,” Levits said. The country could therefore not be deprived of the battle tanks.
Heavy fighting for Bakhmut and Avdiivka
Russian occupying forces and Ukrainian defenders again engaged in heavy fighting around Bakhmut and Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine on Monday. The Russian attacks were repelled with heavy losses, the Ukrainian general staff said in Kyiv in the evening. In order to conquer the entire Donetsk region, the Russian army attacked “regardless of their own losses”. The representation could not initially be independently verified.
The Russian military meanwhile spoke of an intensification of the fighting in the central Zaporizhia region. After advances by the Russian units in the past few days, a regrouping and repositioning of units on the Ukrainian side has now been observed, the state agency TASS reported.