Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Monday they will seek Germany’s permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.
Morawiecki said Poland is building a coalition of countries prepared to send leopards to Ukraine, but even without German approval, he said, Poland will make its own decisions.
“We will ask [Germany] ask for permission, but this is a secondary issue,” Morawiecki said. “Even if, eventually, we don’t get this permission, we, within this small coalition, even if Germany is not in this coalition, we will deliver our tanks, along with the others, to Ukraine.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told French television channel LCI on Sunday that Poland has not formally sought approval to share some of its German-made leopards.
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Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Monday his nation will seek Germany’s permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.
(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)
“If they asked us, we wouldn’t get in the way,” Baerbock said.
Responding to Baerbock’s comments, Morawiecki said that “pushing makes sense” and that his words are a “sparkle of hope” that Germany could even participate in the coalition.
Morawiecki said Baerbock “sent a different message that offers a glimmer of hope that not only will Germany no longer blockade, but perhaps eventually offer heavy, modern equipment in support of Ukraine.”
“We are constantly putting pressure on the Berlin government to make their Leopards available,” Morawiecki told a news conference in the western city of Poznan.
Germany has “more than 350 active leopards and about 200 in storage,” according to Morawiecki.
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Morawiecki said that Poland is building a coalition of countries prepared to send leopards to Ukraine. Even without Germany’s approval, he said Poland will make its own decisions.
(AP)
The Ukrainian government has said the tanks, particularly the German-made Leopards, are crucial in its attempt to fend off Russian forces.
Baerbock suggested that Germany might be willing to send tanks to Ukraine, saying that German officials “know how important these tanks are” and “that is why we are discussing this now with our partners.”
During a meeting at the Ramstein airbase in Germany on Friday, supporters of Ukraine vowed to send billions of dollars in military aid.
Germany is a major arms donor to Ukraine and has ordered a review of its Leopard 2 stocks in preparation for potentially shipping the tanks. Still, the German government has been cautious about increasing its military aid to Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told French television channel LCI on Sunday that Poland has not formally sought approval to share some of its German-made leopards.
(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
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Germany’s dithering has drawn criticism, particularly from Poland and the Baltic states, countries on NATO’s eastern flank, which feel especially threatened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But Moscow has responded to promises of sophisticated Western weapons for Ukraine by highlighting its warnings that the escalation risks catastrophe. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday reaffirmed the Kremlin’s statement that the West’s support of Ukraine with supplies could have “unpredictable” consequences.
“We have said on numerous occasions that climbing is the most dangerous path and the consequences can be unpredictable,” Ryabkov said. “Our signals are not being heeded and Russia’s adversaries continue to raise the stakes.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
