President Volodymyr Zelensky said there is “no alternative” to sending main battle tanks to Ukraine. Leopard 2 tanks are seen as a vital, modern military vehicle that would bolster Kyiv’s forces as the war with Russia approaches the one-year mark. Military assistance progress: German officials have indicated they won’t send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine - or allow any other country with the German-made tanks in their inventory to do so - unless the US also agrees to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv, something the Pentagon has said for months it has no intention of doing given the logistical costs of maintaining them. Western allies met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany Friday where Germany failed to agree to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 main battle tanks after days of negotiations. The newly-appointed German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters on the sidelines of a high-stakes defense meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday that no decision has been made yet regarding sending the tanks to Ukraine. Germany has so far failed to reach an agreement with its key Western allies on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite growing pressure from NATO and Kyiv to step up its military aid ahead of a potential Russian spring offensive. The UK is the "first nation to deliver Challenger 2 main battle tanks and that might be a trigger, hopefully, for other countries but unfortunately not for Germany yet," he told CNN Friday. Melnyk called Germany's indecisiveness a "disappointment," after first praising the UK for moving forward with a pledge of Challenger 2 tanks, adding he hoped the move might trigger other countries to follow suit.
Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has expressed his frustrations as Germany is yet to decide whether or not to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk (CNN) there is no discussion that is not being held at the moment."ĭespite concerns over the delivery of Western tanks, the ambassador opened her discussion with Blitzer by thanking the US for its latest aid package and other allies for all of their military support. "It looks like the Leopard is something that a number of allies are ready to discuss with us, have in quantity and would be a little bit easier to maintain and repair," Markarova said. "Of course we are consulting with our partners, 'What will be the most effective one? What can we get in large numbers, maintain on the battlefield, repair if necessary?'" the ambassador said. Germany has denied claims it is dragging its feet and has called on the US to send its own tanks to Ukraine.īlitzer asked Markarova about the US government's argument that its M1 Abrams tanks would be more difficult to operate and maintain - and therefore less helpful - than the German Leopards. Germany has so far failed to reach an agreement with its key Western allies on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite growing pressure to step up its military aid and pleas from Kyiv for more weapons. So we can maneuver, we can fire and actually we can go back on the counteroffensive and we can preempt this future attacks Russia is actually planning to expand during the spring," Markarova said. The tanks are "very much needed now, so that our brave defenders can be protected.
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