Warsaw (Poland): Poland will ask Germany for permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Monday.
Morawiecki didn’t specify when the request will be made. He said that Poland is building a coalition of nations ready to send Leopards.
Even if there is no permission from Germany, Warsaw will make its own decisions, he said, without elaborating.
“We will ask (Germany) for permission, but this is a secondary theme,” Morawiecki said. “Even if, eventually, we do not get this permission, we within this small coalition; even if Germany is not in this coalition, we will hand over our tanks together with others to Ukraine.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told French television channel LCI Sunday that Poland hasn’t formally asked for Berlin’s approval to share some of its German-made Leopards, but added “if we were asked, we would not stand in the way.”
Regarding Baerbock’s comments, Morawiecki said that “exerting pressure makes sense” and that her words are a “spark of hope” that Germany may even take part in the coalition.
Baerbock “sent a different message that offers a spark of hope that not only Germany will no longer block, but maybe finally will offer heavy, modern equipment in support of Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.
“We are constantly exerting pressure on the government in Berlin to make its Leopards available,” Morawiecki told a news conference in the western city of Poznan.
According to Morawiecki, Germany has “more than 350 active Leopards and about 200 in storage.”
Baerbock made positive comments about the possibility of sending tanks to Ukraine. German officials “know how important these tanks are” and “this is why we are discussing this now with our partners,” Baerbock said in interview clips posted by LCI.
Ukraine’s supporters pledged billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine during a meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany Friday.
The Ukrainian government says that tanks, and especially the German-made Leopards, are vital if it is to prevail over the Kremlin’s invading forces.
International defense leaders discussed Ukraine’s urgent request for the Leopard 2 tanks, and the failure to work out an agreement overshadowed the new commitments.
AP