Polish military drives a Leopard tank during a live-fire display as part of military exercises Bear 22 at the Nowa Deba training ground September 21 in Nowa Deba, Poland. (Omar Brands/Getty Images)
Poland will either get permission to transfer German-made tanks to Ukraine, “or we will do the right thing ourselves,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday.
Any movement of the Leopard 2 main battle tanks would usually require a permit from Berlin, as they are manufactured in Germany.
When asked about Germany’s delay in approving the transfer, Morawiecki said Poland had offered Ukraine 14 tanks.
“At the same time, we must ensure that others meet these needs as well. Among these others, the Germans have been the least active so far,” he said during a video interview on the way back from the International Economic Forum in Davos.
“We will continue to try, we will continue to urge the Chancellery and Germany to react to our proposal as quickly as possible.”
New Secretary of Defense: Morawiecki was also asked if he expected a move after Boris Pistorius, who has called for an easing of sanctions on Russia, took over as Germany’s defense minister.
“That worries me a lot. I don’t know much about Germany’s new defense minister. What I know scares me a bit,” said Morawiecki.
But Pistorius should be given “a few days” to see “what his first steps will be like,” Morawiecki added.
We have agreed that we will hand over the tanks together,” he said. “Consent is secondary. Either we get that consent or we do the right thing ourselves.”
“The most important thing is that the Germans, Danes, Finns, French and other nations offer their modern tanks and heavy equipment as soon as possible,” said Morawiecki. “The ability to defend freedom in Ukraine, and thereby the security of Ukraine as a whole in Europe, may depend on it.”
“Encourage and inspire others”: Poland has already sent 250 tanks to Ukraine, Morawiecki told CNN’s Richard Quest on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum on Wednesday.
“We were the first to offer the Leopard tanks and we now encourage and inspire others, especially the Germans, to do their part,” he said.
“Now the Leopard tanks are the next round of our support to Ukraine. What is crucial is that the Germans will finally finally give up their part of the heavy artillery, especially the heavy and modern tanks,” said Morawiecki.
“And that’s the main question, because 14 tanks in addition to 250 is not the game changer, but if France and especially Germany and some other countries give 20 to 30 tanks each, then it could make a difference for Ukraine,” he added.
Some context: Pressure is growing on Western allies to provide Ukraine with heavy battle tanks.
France, Poland and the UK have pledged to soon send tanks for the Ukrainian military to use in its efforts to protect itself from Russia. Finland is considering following this example.
Germany has said it will move infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv, but has yet to commit to sending tanks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that any such plan must be fully coordinated with the entire Western alliance, including the United States.
Western allies will meet tomorrow at the US Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany to discuss further military aid to Kyiv.