After Germany delayed deciding whether to give Ukraine Leopard tanks to bolster Kyiv’s battle capability against Russia, Ukraine claimed that “global dithering” was “killing more of our people.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, stated on Twitter on Saturday that “today’s indecision is killing more of our people.”
“Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster,” he added.
Germany has claimed that it is not preventing other nations from sending German-made Leopard tanks.
“We had a frank discussion on Leopards 2. To be continued,” Oleksii Reznikov stated following a Friday meeting with Western friends.
About 50 nations decided on Friday to provide Ukraine with weapons and armoured vehicles worth billions of dollars to aid Kyiv in retaliating against invading Russian forces.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius stated after the meeting that “we still cannot say when a decision will be taken, and what the decision will be when it comes to the Leopard tank.” Germany has been under intense pressure to send the tanks.
Ukraine has pleaded with Germany to provide it with some Leopard 2 tanks. Many allies agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the tanks were crucial to Ukraine’s struggle against its larger neighbour.
In a statement jointly by the foreign ministers of the three Baltic republics on Saturday, Latvia’s Edgars Rinkevics urged Germany “to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now.”
As it is simple to maintain and was created expressly to combat the Russian T-90 tanks being employed in the invasion, the Leopard 2 is viewed as having the potential to shift the course of events for Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that there was still disagreement on the shipment of Leopards but refuted claims that Berlin was preventing it.
Other nations who wish to supply Leopards, like Poland and Finland, are prohibited from doing so until Berlin grants the go-ahead under German export restrictions.
