[ad_1]
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Friday denied Berlin had unilaterally blocked the delivery of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine, but said the government was ready to quickly deliver if there was a consensus among allies.
Speaking to reporters at a meeting of NATO and defense leaders at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Pistorius denied Berlin was the only holdout after Poland and other countries said they were waiting for Germany to lift the veto.
“There are good reasons for that [tank] delivery and there are good reasons, and because of all the war conditions that have been going on for almost a year, all the pros and cons must be carefully weighed,” he said, without elaborating on the reasons.
“The impression that sometimes arises, that there is a closed coalition and Germany stands in the way, this impression is wrong.”
Pressure has been building on Berlin to supply Kyiv with tanks that Ukraine sees as key to the war against Russia.
No decision was made on supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine at the meeting, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said later, but he remained optimistic that efforts to supply them would be successful.
“Hope comes from the fact that … defense ministers from 15 countries met on the sidelines of today’s conference and we talked about this topic,” Blaszczak told reporters in Ramstein. “I am confident that coalition building will be successful.”
‘Dig deeper,’ demands the US
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier urged allies to dig deeper to support Ukraine, without making specific reference to tanks.
“The Russians are regrouping, recruiting and trying to re-equip,” Austin said at the start of the meeting.
“This is not the time to slow down. This is the time to dig deeper. The Ukrainians are watching us,” he said without making specific reference to tanks.
NATO and defense leaders from about 50 countries including Canada met at Ramstein Air Base, the latest in a series of arms pledging conferences since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an urgent appeal to Western defense ministers gathered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss providing battle tanks and other military aid to the country.
President of Ukraine Volodmyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the beginning of the meeting actually, thanked the allies for their support, but said that more is needed and sooner.
“We must speed it up. Time must be our weapon,” Zelenskyy said.
Germany is not looking to go alone
Germany has been one of Ukraine’s top military backers in response to the Russian invasion, overcoming a taboo rooted in bloody 20th-century history, but has yet to agree to send tanks or allow other countries to send their own German tanks.
Pistorius, who took office a few days after his predecessor resigned, emphasized the help Germany had given Ukraine and said the priority of the Ramstein conference was to provide air defenses to stop Russian missiles.
Ukraine has been fighting a defensive war until now and needs tanks from Western allies to retake ground lost during the Russian invasion, said Nicholas Drummond, a British defense analyst specializing in land warfare.
The German government is wary of taking steps that could be seen as a party to the conflict with Russia, sources told Reuters.
Leopard tanks seem to be very suitable for Ukraine because they are widely used, which means that several countries can each chip in several tanks to support Ukraine.
It will also make it easier for Ukraine to manage crew maintenance and training.
A government source in Germany said it would continue the issue of Leopard tanks if the United States agreed to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
The United States has made it clear that it will not send Abrams in the long term, arguing that it would be a logistical nightmare for Ukrainian forces to use American tanks because of the fuel and maintenance required.
Britain has said that it will send 14 of its main battle tanks along with additional artillery support to Ukraine, a step officials hope will open the door for Germany to make a similar move.
A Kremlin spokesman said on Friday that Western countries providing additional tanks to Ukraine would not change the course of the conflict and would only exacerbate the problems of Ukrainian citizens.
Also, speaking of Russia’s relationship with the United States specifically, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Bilateral relations are probably at the lowest point in history, unfortunately.”
Fighting has been most intense in the industrial region known as Donbas on Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia, Ukrainian military officials said Thursday night.
The Ukrainian military said Russian forces attacked the town of Bakhmut, Russia’s main target in Donetsk province, which together with Luhansk province forms Donbas.
Soledar, about 20 kilometers from Bakhmut, was also burnt. Russian forces say they are in control of Soledar, while Ukrainian sources say their military is still fighting there.
“Ukrainian forces are practically stable on the Bakhmut front,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said on YouTube. “Today, Russia is turning Soledar into a military center. And they are trying to direct their forces to the cities of Spirne and Bilohorivka – only in the Luhansk region.” Reuters could not verify the battlefield report.
[ad_2]
Source link