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Germany hasnt ruled out sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine

Western defense officials are meeting to coordinate military assistance to Ukraine. Germany has resisted their efforts to persuade the country to export its Leopard 2 tanks, or allow others to do so.

The roots of Russias invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep. The current conflict is more than one country taking over another; it is in the words of one U.S. official a shift in the world order.

Here are some helpful resources to make sense of it all.

Two Leopard 2 A6 heavy battle tanks and a Puma infantry fighting vehicle of the Bundeswehrs 9th Panzer Training Brigade participate in a demonstration of capabilities during a visit by then-Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht to the Bundeswehr Army training grounds in February 2022 in Munster, Germany.Sean Gallup/Getty Imageshide caption

Two Leopard 2 A6 heavy battle tanks and a Puma infantry fighting vehicle of the Bundeswehrs 9th Panzer Training Brigade participate in a demonstration of capabilities during a visit by then-Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht to the Bundeswehr Army training grounds in February 2022 in Munster, Germany.

BERLIN Germanys defense minister said his government has not yet decided whether to send German-made battle tanks to Ukraine, but signaled the country hadnt ruled out the option.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his ministry would check the countrys stocks of the Leopard 2 tank for possible delivery.

There are good reasons for the delivery, there are good reasons against it, Pistorius told reporters after meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and European counterparts in Ramstein, Germany.

Ukraines government has made repeated calls for its international backers to send more heavy weapons including battle tanks to fight Russia. Some countries have offered armored vehicles. In recent days, Western defense officials have been pressing Germany to allow the export of its sophisticated Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

But Germany has so far not agreed to release its heavy battle tanks, or to allow other countries to deliver Leopard tanks that they purchased from Germany.

As the meeting opened, officials noted the urgency, while refraining from calling out Germany directly.

This is a crucial moment, Defense Secretary Austin said. Russia is regrouping, recruiting, and trying to re-equip. This is not a moment to slow down. Its a time to dig deeper.

Austin said several countries are pushing hard to meet requirements for tanks, noting that Britains big donation of the Challenger 2 will mark the first main battle tank delivery to Ukraine.

The Pentagon on Thursday announced itslatest military aidpackage to Ukraine, worth $2.5 billion, will include 90 Stryker combat vehicles, 59 Bradley fighting vehicles and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition but no tanks.

U.S. officials have said Americas M1 Abrams tanks aretoo complicatedto train on and maintain. Austin disputed newsreports that have saidGermanys government would only send its tanks on condition that the U.S. did, too.

But other countries are lining up to deliver German-made tanks.

Last week, Polish President Andrzej Dudasaid his country would transferLeopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö also indicated her countrywas prepared to supplyKyiv with the tanks.

German weapons companies manufacture the Leopard 2, and the German government legally has the final say over how and where the tanks are used, even when other countries are offering to export them.

When asked about giving approval to another country like Poland to deliver its Leopard tanks to Ukraine, German Defense Minister Pistorius said it was not his decision and that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds the export license. Pistorius added that the impression that Germany is blocking such a decision is wrong.

Scholz has repeatedly refused to give the go-ahead for his country or others to export Leopard tanks to Ukraine, saying Western tanks should only be supplied to Kyiv if there is agreement among key allies.

Berlin is also hesitant to supply arms that would enable Kyiv to carry out attacks on Russian soil or that could potentially draw NATO into a broader conflict with Moscow. Scholz has asserted throughout the more than 10-month Russian invasion of Ukraine that Germany is alreadyone of Ukraines biggestfinancial supporters.

Germany will not go it alone, Germany will act together with its allies and especially with our transatlantic partner, the U.S. Anything else would be irresponsible in such a dangerous situation,thechancellor saidat an event sponsored by his center-left Social Democratic Party on Jan. 9 in Berlin.

For months, public opinion in Germany has backed up Scholzs refusal to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine. But according to thelatest Forsa surveyfrom this week, German public support for supplying battle tanks to Ukraine grew to its highest level ever: 46% of those polled are in favor of delivering Leopard tanks and the same percentage is against it.

Meanwhile, the defense ministers of Estonia, the United Kingdom, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as representatives from Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia also met on Thursday to reaffirm our continued determination and resolve to supporting Ukraine in their heroic resistance against the illegal and unprovoked Russian aggression,according to a joint statementfrom the countries.

The group, having formed the Tallinn Pledge, committed to collectively pursuing delivery of an unprecedented set of donations including main battle tanks, heavy artillery, air defence, ammunition, and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraines defence, the statement said.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov repeated warnings that additional Western arms merely prolonged Ukraines suffering and said deepening Western military aid risked anupward spiralinto direct conflict between Russian and NATO forces.

We see a devotion to the dramatic delusion that Ukraine can succeed on the battlefield,Peskov said. This is a dramatic delusion of the Western community that will more than once be cause for regret. We are sure of that.