After weeks of dithering that saw growing impatience among Germany’s allies, Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday that his government would provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks and would approve requests from other countries to do the same.
In a statement, the German government said it would initially provide Ukraine with a Leopard 2 A6 tank company, comprising 14 vehicles, from its own stock. The goal is for Germany and its allies to provide Ukraine with a total of two battalions or 88 tanks.
“This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine as best we can,” Scholz said after a cabinet meeting in Berlin.
Germany was “acting in close coordination” with its international allies, he said.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany had informed several allies of its plan before the announcement, including Canada.
“Germany will always be in the forefront when it comes to supporting Ukraine,” Scholz said later in a speech to Bundestag lawmakers.
Reaction of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy:
German main battle tanks, further expanded defense support & training missions, green light for partners to supply similar weapons. I just found out about these important & timely decisions on a call with @OlafScholz. Sincerely grateful to the Chancellor and all our friends at ????????.
The long-awaited decision came after US officials said a preliminary agreement had been reached for the United States to send M1 Abrams tanks to help Kyiv push back entrenched Russian forces in the east nearly a year from the start of the war.
The United States will send 31 M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, reversing months of persistent arguments from the Joe Biden administration that the tanks were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain.
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The $400 million package announced Wednesday in brief White House remarks by Biden also includes eight M88 recovery vehicles, tank-like tracked vehicles that can tow the Abrams if it gets stuck.
It could be months, given the lead time and training requirements, before the Abrams are on the battlefield.
By getting Washington to commit some of its own tanks, Berlin hopes to spread the risk of any backlash from Russia.
Ekkehard Brose, director of the German military’s Federal Academy for Security Policy, said binding the United States in the decision was crucial to prevent Europe from going up against a nuclear-armed Russia alone.
But it also pointed to the deeper historical significance of the decision.
“German-made tanks will face Russian tanks in the Ukraine once again,” he said, noting that it was “not an easy idea” for Germany, which is taking seriously its responsibility for the horrors of World War II.
Biden praised the approval.
“Germany has really stepped up,” he said. “The chancellor has been a loud and strong voice for unity and a close friend.”
The Kremlin criticizes the “disastrous plan”
Members of Scholz’s tripartite coalition government welcomed the news ahead of the official announcement.
“The leopard has been released!” said German lawmaker Katrin Goering-Eckardt, a senior Green Party lawmaker.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the Free Democratic Party who chairs the parliamentary defense committee, said the news was “a relief for a brave and battered Ukraine.”
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Left Party, each with current or historical ties to Russia, criticized the decision.
“Germany risks being drawn directly into war as a result,” AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla said.
“The supply of Leopard main battle tanks, breaking another taboo, potentially brings us closer to a third world war than to peace in Europe,” left-wing parliamentary leader Dietmar Bartsch told the German news agency dpa.
Earlier this week, Poland formally requested Germany to approve the shipment of Leopard 2 tanks from Polish stocks to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the German and American intentions with the tanks as “a rather disastrous plan”.
“I am convinced that many specialists understand the absurdity of this idea,” Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
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Wagner Group is a private military that has been violently promoting Russian interests internationally, but in the shadows, for years. Now that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled, fighters for hire have taken center stage to fight on Russia’s side. Mercenaries have been involved in some of the bloodiest battles in the entire war. Mary Ilyushina is a reporter covering Russia for the Washington Post. Today on Front Burner, she joins guest presenter Jodie Martinson to explain the evolution and growing influence of the Wagner Group in Russia and other parts of the world.
Peskov predicted that “these tanks will burn like all the others… Except they cost a lot, and this will fall on the shoulders of European taxpayers.”
The reversal of the Biden administration comes just days after a coalition of more than 50 top defense officials from Europe and beyond met in Germany to discuss Ukraine’s war needs, with main battle tanks a top topic. .
The M1 Abrams tanks require jet fuel, and the US cited extensive and complex logistical and maintenance challenges with the high-tech vehicles, the necessary training and sustainment of the tanks.
While several House Republicans in Congress have opposed the amount of military aid given to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that “we already it’s time, it’s time” for the Biden administration and its allies to send more. military aid to Ukraine, and that the United States should provide more tanks and weapons to help Ukraine “win this war.”
