Russia-Ukraine war : Pressure mounts on Germany over Leopard battle tanks for Ukraine

Berlin | German is under renewed international pressure after it left open a decision on dispatching its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, which Kyiv sees as vital to a new military offensive against a regrouping Russia.

Germany’s new Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, told the meeting at the US Ramstein airbase in central Germany that the government would look at the availability, location and condition of the about 2000 fighter tanks stationed across 13 European nations before any decision on delivering the Leopards to Kyiv.

As Leopards are licensed in Germany, allies, such as Poland, Spain and Finland, need permission from Berlin to re-export the fighter tanks they own to Ukraine.

Mr Pistorius dismissed suggestions that Germany risked being isolated internationally on the issue, insisting that other states also had misgivings about arming Ukraine with the Leopard tanks, which can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometres an hour and are considered the world’s most modern fighter tanks.

There is also broader concern in Germany about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will see supplying Ukraine with offensive, rather than defensive military equipment as crossing a red line that could result in drawing Germany directly into the war.

Mr Pistorius also removed on Friday a key hurdle to Kyiv adding the German-licensed tanks to its military arsenal by dropping Berlin’s previous insistence that its decision on the Leopards was dependent on Washington supplying its M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine