There has been an intense tug-of-war between defense ministers from around 50 countries over whether Ukraine will get its highest wish, namely German Leopard2 tanks. – It was not decided to supply Ukraine with German-made Leopard tanks during Friday’s meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine at the Ramstein base in Germany. This is what Polish Defense Minister Marusz Blaszczak told Reuters. “The elephant in the room” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is attending the meeting at the Ramstein base in Germany, tells news that Ukraine has been promised large quantities of new weapons. – Today, Ukraine has been promised several hundred armored vehicles – armored personnel carriers, but also some tanks. Stoltenberg is probably referring to the United Kingdom, which will send British tanks. – What is at the top of Ukraine’s wish list? – There are air defenses and heavier armored vehicles. They get both parts, says Stoltenberg, who does not mention the word “Leopard 2”. – Ukraine wants German tanks. But Ukraine is happy for massive support. More help is urgent, says Stoltenberg to news. Germany will not allow the export of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine for the time being, but the pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz is increasing. Photo: Michael Sohn / AP German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says the same to Reuters. – I don’t know when a decision will be made about Leopard 2, he says. – There are good arguments for delivering the tanks to Ukraine and there are good arguments for not doing so, says the German foreign minister. He believes that it is not true that Germany is alone in not sending Leopard 2 to Ukraine. The German Leopard 2 tank became the “elephant in the room” at the defense ministers’ summit at the Ramstein base on Friday. “Stop the evil” Ukraine has for a long time been clear that it needs further advanced weapons deliveries to beat back the Russian invasion of the country. – The partners must not negotiate on the number of tanks, but open up the most important supply that will stop the evil, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on a video link to a meeting in Ramstein today. There are 50 defense chiefs in the so-called Contact Group for Ukraine gathered at the American base in Germany. The meeting is chaired by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is also present. There is broad agreement among all Ukraine’s allies to continue supporting Ukraine with weapons. The discussion is about what type of weapons the NATO countries will now contribute. Until now, Germany has refused to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The picture shows Chancellor Olaf Scholz in front of a Leopard in Ostenholz on 17 October last year. Photo: RONNY HARTMANN / AFP Specifically, the Ukrainian General Staff has estimated that at least 300 tanks are needed to be able to carry out a successful counter-offensive against the Russian forces, which control 18 percent of the country. Dispute over tanks Germany has made it clear that Ukraine will only get German-made Leopard tanks if the US sends American-made Abrams tanks to the country. The Americans will not agree to that. – We are probably not there yet. The Abrams tanks are very complicated. They are expensive. It is difficult to train them to use them. They have a jet engine, Colin Kahl, a senior Pentagon official told the Reuters news agency earlier this week. At the same time, both Denmark, Poland and Lithuania have said they are willing to supply Ukraine with Leopard tanks. Criticism of Germany But as with all international arms trade, Germany reserves the right to approve that German-made weapons are sent on. This has led to Poland now threatening to send the German-made tanks to Ukraine without blessing, which will not be well received in Berlin. Defense ministers from 50 countries are in Ramstein. The picture shows Iceland’s Defense Minister Thordis Gylfadottir together with US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksij Reznikov. Photo: ANDRE PAIN / AFP Chancellor Olaf Scholz receives criticism from the opposition for his reluctance to contribute Leopard 2 tanks, but he has public opinion in Germany on his side, a recent opinion poll shows. 43 percent of respondents say they are against sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, while 39 percent say they are in favor, according to the YouGov survey carried out for the DPA news agency. The meeting in Ramstein is being held the day after the US and UK announced large arms packages to Ukraine. USA: – No time to hesitate US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin opened Friday’s meeting at Ramstein Air Base. He asks the European countries to “dig deeper” in their support for Ukraine, writes Reuters. – This is a decisive moment for Ukraine in a decisive decade for the world. Russia will continue its attacks and try to break Ukraine’s will to fight, he said. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will not send Leopard2 to Ukraine. Here together with colleague Lloyd Austin from the USA and Oleksij Reznikov from Ukraine. Photo: ANDRE PAIN / AFP – The Ukrainian people have their eyes on us, the Kremlin has their eyes on us and history has its eyes on us, Austin continued, adding that this is not the time to slow aid. Facts about military aid to Ukraine This is some of the military aid other countries have given or promised Ukraine recently. Canada: Buys a Norwegian-developed Nasam air defense system from the United States to give to Ukraine. Denmark: 19 French-built Caesar howitzers Estonia: Howitzers, ammunition, support vehicles and anti-tank weapons Finland: Sending heavy military equipment for approximately NOK 4 billion, but does not state what kind of equipment it is. France: To deliver AMX 10 RC, which is described as an assault armored vehicle or light tank Latvia: Two helicopters, drones, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, machine guns and ammunition Lithuania: Anti-aircraft artillery and two helicopters Netherlands: Expected to announce details of its support on Friday Poland: S-60 anti-aircraft guns with 70,000 shells Great Britain: 600 Brimstone anti-aircraft missiles. The country has recently promised to send Challenger 2 tanks, the first modern tank Ukraine has been offered Sweden: The Archer mobile artillery system, anti-tank missiles and up to 50 armored personnel carriers quickly. United States: $2.5 billion worth of supplies, including armored personnel carriers, air defense systems and tens of thousands of rockets and artillery shells. NTB Claims the West has delusions The Kremlin claims that if Western countries deliver tanks to Ukraine, it will not change the course of the conflict, but will worsen the problems of the Ukrainian people. – We see an endorsement of a dramatic delusion about Ukraine’s chances of success on the battlefield, said President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dimitry Peskov. Russia’s concerns must be listened to if an escalation is to be avoided, warns Peskov.
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