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GERMANY AND UKRAINE

Poland slams ‘unacceptable’ German stance on Leopard tanks

Poland's Prime Minister on Sunday lashed out at Germany's decision not to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine, branding the country's stance "unacceptable."

A Leopard 2 A7 main battle tank
A Leopard 2 A7 main battle tank of the German armed forces. Photo: PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP

Berlin has been hesitant to send the heavy-duty tanks or allow other nations to transfer them to Kyiv.

“Germany’s attitude is unacceptable. It has been almost a year since the war began. Innocent people are dying every day,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the PAP agency.

“Russian bombs are wreaking havoc in Ukrainian cities. Civilian targets are being attacked, women and children are being murdered”.

On Friday, around 50 countries agreed to provide Kyiv with billions of dollars’ worth of military hardware, including armoured vehicles and munitions needed to push back Russian forces.

But German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said despite heightened expectations, “we still cannot say when a decision will be taken, and what the decision will be, when it comes to the Leopard tank.”

Germany is the producer of Leopard tanks and Poland’s prime minister also said he was waiting for “a clear statement” from Berlin whether countries that have the Leopards can transfer them to Ukraine.

Poland has announced it is ready to deliver 14 Leopard tanks to Kyiv, and says it is discussing the matter with around 15 countries.

If Berlin refuses to supply the tanks to Ukraine, “we will set up a ‘small coalition’ of countries ready to donate some of their modern equipment, their modern tanks,” Morawiecki said.

In a joint statement Saturday, the foreign ministers of the three Baltic states urged Germany “to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now”.

Member comments

  1. Germany should be thrown out of NATO. They don’t pay their fair share and they aren’t a good ally. Cowards. We should move all our bases into Poland. Germany spent $118 million last year on hosting foreign forces, a fraction of what other major allies spend on cost-sharing and far less than the billions the U.S. military pumps into the Germany economy. They don’t deserve their “allies”.

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UKRAINE

Germany plans extra €400 million military aid to Ukraine

Germany is planning almost €400 million in extra military aid for Ukraine this year despite a row over budgetary constraints, according to a finance ministry document seen by AFP Thursday.

Germany plans extra €400 million military aid to Ukraine

Berlin has been the second-largest contributor of military aid to Ukraine after Washington and had already earmarked around 7.5 billion euros for Kyiv in 2024.

However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been facing domestic pressure over the issue, with parties opposed to Berlin’s support for Kyiv making major gains at key regional elections in early September.

The additional funds are needed to “fulfil the German government’s support commitments to the Ukrainian armed forces”, the letter to the parliamentary budget committee said.

Advances by Russian forces in Ukraine have led to “heavy material losses” on the battlefield and there is a “serious risk… that Ukraine will succumb in its defence struggle without a significant increase in support”, it said.

The letter asks for the funds to be made available to provide drones and air defence equipment, among other things, “without delay” so that they can “have an impact on the battlefield in Ukraine during the remainder of 2024”.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky made a fresh appeal earlier this month for more weapons to counter the threat from advancing Russian forces in the east of the country and Moscow’s devastating missile strikes.

Berlin plans to cut back its budget for Ukraine aid next year to around €4.4 billion as it looks to make savings demanded by liberal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, according to draft budget documents.

However, the government has insisted it is “fully committed” to supporting Ukraine “for as long as necessary”.

READ ALSO: Opinion – Germany’s timid strategy risks both Ukraine’s defeat and more war in Europe

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