Berlin, 24 January 2023 (GNP): The German Foreign Minister, Anna Baerbock, signaled that her country would not stop the supply of German-made tanks, Leopard 2, to Ukraine from Poland.
Kyiv was long demanding for the supply of German tanks, Leopard 2, to defeat Russia in the war. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said that through these German tanks, Ukrainian forces would be able to defend their country against the Russian invasion.
However, Berlin was reluctant about the export of these tanks to Ukraine as German laws do not permit the export of these tanks indirectly to another country to which it has not been exported.
However, the German Foreign Minister, in her interview with French TV, said that if such permission is asked by the Polish government, her country will not create any hurdle in its way.
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Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, said that such authorization would first be sought from the German government.
However, even if not granted by Berlin, they go ahead in supplying these tanks to Ukraine.
The European Union foreign policy’s Chief, Josep Borrell, supported this move by saying that Germany and all other European countries should provide aid to Ukraine in all respects.
Warsaw also demanded from NATO and other countries to send their own Leopard tanks to Kyiv, as merely 14 Polish Leopard 2 tanks would not be very effective in the battlefield.
While the Speaker of the Russian Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, warned Washington and its European allies that arming of Ukraine with their weapons would start a terrible war for Kyiv in which Moscow would use more heavy and dangerous weapons for regaining its territorial integrity.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has demanded for 300 Leopard tanks to ensure a Russian defeat in the battlefield.
It is estimated that there are at least 2000 Leopard tanks present worldwide. Majority of them are in Europe, whose sending and mobilization in the Ukrainian battlefields are very easy and quick for Kyiv.