Poland lodges request to transfer German-made tanks to Ukraine
Warsaw, Jan 24 (EFE).- Poland has officially requested Germany’s permission to transfer German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine amid swelling pressure for Berlin to give the green light.
“The Germans have already received our request for consent to the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine,” defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak said in a tweet Tuesday.
“I also appeal to the German side to join the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks. This is our common cause, because it is about the security of the whole of Europe!”
Poland and the Baltic states have upped the pressure on the German government to grant its permission for the transfer of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukrainian forces.
Germany’s new defense minister Boris Pistorius discussed the matter with Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday, with both insisting that a decision would be made shortly.
“We discussed the issue of battle tanks,” Stoltenberg told a press conference. “Consultations among Allies will continue and I am confident that we will have a solution soon.”
He added: “And I welcome also the clear message from the (defense) minister that our other Allies, other Nato Allies, that have Leopard battle tanks are of course free to identify those Leopard battle tanks that may be available for Ukraine. To make them ready, but also to start training Ukrainian crews for those battle tanks.”
The United Kingdom and France have also offered to ship tanks to Ukraine, a move that would bolster the country’s forces on the battlefield against Russia. EFE
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