Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called on Germany to urgently supply Kyiv with Leopard tanks

The Foreign Ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called on the German authorities to urgently transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The Ministers of the Baltic States Urmas Reinsalu, Edgar Rinkevich and Gabrielius Landsbergis published the corresponding statement on Twitter.

“We, the Foreign Ministers, call on Germany to immediately provide Ukraine with Leopard tanks. This is necessary to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and quickly restore peace in Europe. Germany, as a leading European power, has a special responsibility in this regard,” the ministers said.

Following the consultations of the heads of defense ministries of NATO member countries on January 20 at the American Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, the alliance agreed providing Ukraine with an unprecedentedly large package of military assistance in terms of nomenclature, however, German Leopard 2 tanks were not included in it. Berlin, as a manufacturer, has repeatedly refused to export them to Kyiv either from its stocks or from the countries where they were previously delivered .

Poland declared its readiness to supply Kyiv with 14 Leopard 2s promised to it by Berlin without the consent of the German authorities. Of the countries where such tanks are in service, Finland also announced its desire to transfer them to Ukraine.

The fact that the administration of US President Joe Biden was “bogged down” in disputes with Germany over sending tanks to Ukraine was reported by CNN on January 19, citing sources. According to the interlocutors of the TV channel, Berlin agreed to this step only if American Abrams tanks were sent to Kyiv. On January 20, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit assured that there was no such condition.

Leopard 2 tanks are German-made weapons. In order to transfer military equipment to Kyiv, countries first need to get the approval of Berlin. The FRG also reminded that the transfer of tanks without its permission would be illegal.

At the same time, a number of German politicians believe that Berlin should not prevent other countries from making a decision on military support for Ukraine. In particular, such a statement was made by Vice-Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habek, commenting on Warsaw’s plans to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Olaf Scholz’s Germany to allow Warsaw to send tanks to Ukraine.

The possible sending of heavy tanks to Ukraine will have negative consequences, declared former press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov. At the same time, according to him, the supply of weapons will not fundamentally change the situation, but they will “add problems” for Ukraine.