Updated on 01/19/2023 23:20
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has high hopes for a meeting of Western allies in Ramstein on Friday.
- Meanwhile, Chancellor Scholz remains under pressure over possible Leopard deliveries.
- The day in the blink of an eye.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects “strong decisions” ahead of the Western Allies’ meeting in Ramstein on Friday. In his daily video message on Thursday night, he said: “We expect a strong package of military support from the United States.”
The dominant topic of the Ramstein meeting is likely to be the possible delivery of tanks to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is under pressure to drop his opposition to the delivery of Leopard main battle tanks to Kyiv. More recently, Poland and other EU and NATO countries agreed to supply the Ukrainian army with German-made Leopard tanks. The federal government would have to give the green light for this.
“Now we are waiting for a decision from a European capital that will set in motion the chains of cooperation prepared in tanks,” Zelenskyy said in his video message to Berlin. “I believe the strength of the German leadership will remain unchanged.”
NATO states and other countries supporting Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression will attend the meeting at the US military base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, on Friday.
Pistorius: No one rules out a Leopard delivery
New Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said at the ZDF on Thursday that no one has ruled out “that Leopard tanks could be delivered, or that approval, approval for the delivery of other European partners could be granted” . However, there are still open questions that need to be clarified. Whether a decision can be announced in Ramstein “will be revealed in the next few hours or tomorrow morning”, he said in an interview with ARD late on Thursday.
Delivery of Western main battle tanks to Ukraine attacked by Russia is approaching. Ahead of a meeting in Ramstein on Thursday, the allies put massive pressure on Germany to also contribute to Leopard 2. According to media reports, Chancellor Olaf Scholz would be willing to do so under certain conditions – but initially he did not publicly committed. The Kremlin has urgently warned against delivering heavy weapons to Kyiv.
Updated on 01/19/2023 at 12:12 pm
Before a meeting with his American counterpart, the new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized that German weapons systems in Ukraine had proven themselves.
New offensive expected in Ukraine
Eleven months after the invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine says it fears a new Russian offensive in the east. At the same time, the Ukrainian general staff estimates 300 tanks for a successful counteroffensive. In this context, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his foreign and defense ministers, called for quick deliveries from Germany and other allied states.
A US-led coalition is due to discuss this on Friday in Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is hoping for a signal from there that there are “heavier weapons and more modern weapons” for Ukraine. Great Britain has already announced tank deliveries, Poland and Finland are ready to do so in the European network. Germany plays a key role because Leopard 2 tanks are produced here. The federal government must approve any transfer of these tanks.
Scholz sets condition for delivery of Leopard
According to reports in the newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and “Bild”, Chancellor Scholz promised a release and his own delivery in a phone call to US President Joe Biden – but only if the US, in turn, gave battle tanks main to Ukraine Abrams. Scholz insists on a clear step between Europe and the US so that Putin cannot split NATO.
The “Politico” news portal reported without an official source that the US is considering the delivery of Stryker-type armored vehicles – but not the Abrams main battle tanks. The reason is the extensive maintenance and training on the main battle tank. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Berlin on Thursday and consulted with the new Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD)-immediately after he took office. The decisions were initially not known.
Updated on 01/18/2023 at 11:34 pm
According to media reports, Chancellor Scholz (SPD) is ready to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks. But there is one condition. © ProSiebenSat.1
Berlin: domestic tensions over delivery of tanks
Scholz is also under pressure domestically. Coalition partners FDP and Verdes are pressuring him to deliver tanks, as is the opposition CDU/CSU. The head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, called the delivery of Leopard tanks to Kyiv a “moral obligation”.
The left, on the other hand, issued an urgent warning, as did the International Doctors for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). Both fear an escalation. According to a survey commissioned by the dpa, the population in this country is also quite skeptical.
print from poland
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hinted that his country could supply its own Leopard tanks without German approval – putting even more pressure on the federal government. According to the PAP agency, the head of government said: “Approval is secondary here. Either we reach an agreement quickly or we do the right thing ourselves.”
Sweden has promised Ukraine the Archer artillery system and dozens of infantry fighting vehicles. Britain, on the other hand, wants to send another 600 Brimstone-type missiles to Ukraine, according to Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. Wallace made the statement at a meeting with allies at the military base in Tapa, Estonia. Initially, he did not provide further information about the delivery time.
Moscow notice
Russia has repeatedly accompanied Western arms deliveries to Ukraine with warnings and threats – as it did this time. The delivery of heavy weapons to Kyiv is taking the conflict to “a qualitatively new level, which does not bode well from the point of view of global and pan-European security”, warned Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax agency.
Just discussing the delivery of weapons “that enable attacks against Russian territory is potentially extremely dangerous,” Peskov said. He specified that he was referring to the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia annexed by Russia.
Medvedev repeats nuclear threats
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has repeated nuclear threats. He wrote in Telegram: “None of these bastards come to the head to draw the next elementary conclusion: the defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war can trigger the onset of a nuclear war. Nuclear powers do not lose big conflicts.” However, Peskov dismissed speculation that Moscow would toughen its nuclear doctrine. (dpa/afp/cgo)