(PresidentialHill.com)- The topic of battle tanks dominated discussions at the EU summit on Monday in Brussels and the gathering of Western military ministers last week in Germany.
Poland said Monday it would approach Germany for permission to deploy Leopard tanks to Ukraine, and no matter what Berlin thinks, they will go ahead with these plans if other nations agree.
Germany has been leery of any actions that may “poke the Russian bear.”
The provision of combat tanks is now unjustified, according to Latvia’s foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics. “The escalation argument is invalid since Russia is still escalating,”
Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, which borders Ukraine, said that Warsaw would request authorization from Berlin to re-export the tanks to Kyiv.
The German-built Leopard 2, one of the most popular Western tanks, is what the Kyiv administration plans to employ to breach Russian defenses and retake land this year.
Berlin will not obstruct Poland’s efforts, according to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, while Josep Borrell, the top diplomat for the European Union, confirmed on Monday that Germany was not obstructing the shipment of the tanks.
Western nations have pledged billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine in the last few days. On Monday, the foreign ministers of the European Union decided to deliver their most recent tranche, totaling 500 million euros ($545 million).
“We would still move our tanks to Ukraine even if we didn’t get this authorization. Our current need is to create at least a modest coalition of nations,” Morawiecki said. He said a transfer only made sense as part of a brigade, which is a variable but considerably higher quantity. Poland has stated that it will contribute to a company of Leopards, or around 14. Around 20 nations use the tank, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.
For months, Ukrainian authorities have pleaded with their Western friends to provide them with tanks.
Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg and Gabrielius Landsbergis of Lithuania said the tanks should no longer be delayed. Russia may win the conflict if the EU “does not immediately provide Ukraine with what they need.”
An EU official said that the ministers then spoke about the tanks. The ambassador remarked, “The Germans didn’t enjoy being pushed; they warn it might be counterproductive.”
Russia has seized control of sections of Ukraine and has vowed never to leave since its invasion on February 24, 2022, which it has justified as protecting itself against an aggressive West. According to Ukraine, reestablishing its territorial integrity is not negotiable.
