The newly appointed Minister of Defense of Germany Borys Pistorius informed that the Western allies at the meeting in the Rammstein format have not yet reached an agreement on the provision of Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine.
However, Pistorius instructed his ministry to prepare for "the day that may come".
"There is no consensus," Pistorius noted of the talks.
According to him, Germany does not block this decision.
"There are strong arguments in favor of the delivery, but there are also strong arguments against," the German defense minister said, adding that he could not yet say what the decision would be or when it would be made.
At the same time, he made it clear that Germany is preparing to be ready to hand over Leopard 2 tanks as soon as possible, if a decision is made to supply them.
- On January 11, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that his country would transfer a company of Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition. According to NATO standards, a tank company is 14 vehicles, although Duda himself did not name the exact number.
- According to Bloomberg and The Guardian, this week Germany will announce a decision to transfer tanks to Ukraine. We are talking about the German Leopard. Prior to that, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the intention to transfer Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- On January 18, members of the European Parliament officially called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to hand over Leopard 2 tanks and air defense systems to Ukraine. Germany is expected to announce its decision during a Rammstein-style meeting on January 20.