“Yes, we have handed over to Ukraine what was agreed,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz replied, when asked if the 18 Leopard 2 promised by their country to Ukraine They have already reached their destination. The issue arose in a joint appearance by the head of the Berlin government with his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, in Rotterdam. Shortly before, the weekly ‘Der Spiege’” had spread information according to which the German Leopards were already in Ukrainian territory, something that Berlin had not wanted to reveal even for security reasons.
The Leopards that Germany has delivered are those of the modern 2A6 version, until now used by the German army for the training of his soldiers. Scholz gave the green light last January to the supply of the battle tanks that kyiv claimed last January, after which the weeks of express training in their handling followed, in German territory, for the Ukrainian soldiers.
Scholz’s decision was preceded by strong pressure on Berlin from kyiv, from Washington and from Warsaw for the authorization to send these tanks, of German manufacture and license. On the chancellor’s green light depended not only the dispatch of the Leopards2 of his army, but also that of those western allies who have them and are ready to deliver them to Ukraine.
western pressure
Germany initially promised 14, but raised the ante to 18 given that, after so much pressure, its European and NATO allies did not respond with the desired speed to the goal of achieving unite two battalions –each of 31 units, according to Spiegel–. Poland had responded almost immediately with Scholz’s yes to match his offer. Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Finland were specifying theirs in the following weeks. The United States finally promised supply their ‘Abrams’ equivalents, American made.
Ukraine considers essential the so-called main tanks -or combat- to recover the land seized by the Russian troops in Donbas. The German green light for the “Leopard2” has not been followed by any announcement from Berlin or Washington regarding the possibility of also supplying fighter jets. Scholz considers it a red line that he is not willing to cross, since it appears from Germany, like the US, that it would imply the direct participation of NATO soldiers in the war against Russia. Poland, on the other hand, insists on its willingness to deliver the Soviet-made MiG29s, for which Ukrainian pilots are authorized to drive.