- Poland plans to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine
- Germany hints at approval as allies apply pressure
- President Zelenskyy is struggling with the corruption scandal
- Russia says tank debate shows division in NATO
WARSAW/BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Portal) – Poland said on Monday it would ask Germany for permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine – and send them whether Berlin agrees or not, as long as other countries did too.
The Kiev government wants the German-made Leopard 2, one of the most widely used western tanks, to help it break through Russian lines and retake territory this year.
Germany, which must authorize re-exports of the Leopard, has held back as it is wary of measures that could lead to Moscow escalating and says other NATO countries have yet to formally ask for them to be re-exported.
On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin will not stand in the way of Poland, and on Monday the European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said Germany was not blocking the export of the tanks. But Warsaw’s call for a coalition signaled that a transfer was still a long way off.
Western countries have pledged billions of dollars in new military aid to Ukraine in recent days: On Monday, European Union foreign ministers agreed to release their latest tranche worth 500 million euros ($545 million), officials said.
However, battle tanks dominated discussions both at the EU talks in Brussels on Monday and at the meeting of Western defense ministers in Germany last week.
“At this stage there are no good arguments why main battle tanks cannot be deployed,” said Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics. “The escalation argument doesn’t work because Russia continues to escalate.”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, whose country borders Ukraine, said Warsaw will ask Germany for permission to re-export the tanks to Kyiv.
“Even if we didn’t get that permit… we would move our tanks to Ukraine along with others. The condition for us right now is to form at least a small coalition of countries,” he said.
Poland has said it would provide a company of Leopards — about 14 — but Morawiecki said a transfer only makes sense as part of a brigade — a variable but much larger number. About 20 countries operate the tank, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.
Both Ukraine and Russia are believed to be planning spring offensives to break the deadlock in what has become a war of attrition in eastern and southern Ukraine as the first anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been struggling with a corruption scandal that could dampen Western enthusiasm for his government.
A newspaper reported that Ukraine’s military had allegedly secured food at grossly inflated prices and that a deputy minister had resigned after an investigation into allegations that he had accepted bribes.
LEOPARDS ON THE MOVE?
[1/4] A protester holds a placard during a demonstration in support of Ukraine during a meeting of European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium January 23, 2023. Portal/Johanna Geron
Ukrainian officials have been begging Western allies for months to supply them with tanks.
Following the Ukrainian advance in the second half of 2022, the front lines have largely been frozen for two months, despite heavy casualties on both sides. Ukraine says Western tanks would give its ground forces the mobility, protection and firepower to breach Russian defenses and continue their advance.
“We need tanks – not 10 to 20, but several hundred,” Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram. “Our goal is to (restore) the 1991 borders and punish the enemy who will pay for their crimes.”
When the German Baerbock arrived in Brussels on Monday, she declined to say whether she spoke for the entire governing coalition when she said Berlin will not prevent Poland from exporting the tanks again. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats have expressed concern that Russia could escalate or even strike back.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the tanks shouldn’t be held up another day, while Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said Russia could win the war if the Europeans “don’t help Ukraine with what they need now”.
An EU diplomat said ministers talked about the tanks at the time. “The Germans didn’t like being pushed, they warn that it can be counterproductive,” said the diplomat.
“TERRIBLE WAR”
The Polish Prime Minister said Warsaw will also talk to countries with other modern main battle tanks, without naming them.
American lawmakers on Sunday urged their government to export M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, saying even a token number would help persuade European allies to do the same.
Great Britain has announced that it will deliver 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron said he does not rule out the possibility of sending Leclerc tanks to Ukraine.
Leopards are more widely available than the British and French tanks, and consume less fuel than the US turbine-powered Abrams.
The Kremlin said divisions in Europe over the supply of tanks to Kyiv showed there was increasing “nervousness” within the NATO military alliance.
“But, of course, all countries that are directly or indirectly involved in pumping arms into Ukraine and increasing its technological level bear the responsibility for the continuation of the conflict,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Since its February 24, 2022 invasion, which it describes as defending against an aggressive West, Russia has seized control of parts of Ukraine it says it will never return. Ukraine has stated that restoring its territorial integrity is non-negotiable.
(An earlier version of this article has been corrected to remove a reference to Latvia, which borders Ukraine.)
Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz, Tassilo Hummel, Ingrid Melander, Anna Wlodarczak, Tom Sims and Lidia Kelly; writing by Angus MacSwan and Philippa Fletcher; Adaptation by Clarence Fernandez and Alex Richardson
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