BERLINA Germany approved the shipment of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, as the German magazine Der Spiegel and the broadcaster NTV reported this Tuesday, the 24th. The decision comes after a period of reluctance from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and pressure from NATO allies. The official confirmation should take place this Wednesday, 25th, as published by the Bild newspaper.
According to Scholz government circles, 14 tanks are to be sent along with other partners, meaning that Berlin would have approved the export of tanks that had been sold to the armies of Finland, Sweden and Poland. Andri Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodmir Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, welcomed the Germans’ decision. “This will be a real strike of democracy against autocracy,” Yermak wrote in Telegram.
The Chancellor’s decision was made after US agree to send tanks M1 Abrams, as German reluctance was in part a search for coordinated action with allied countries. According to The New York Times, citing advisers to US President Joe Biden, the delivery will be announced this Wednesday, April 25.
:quality(80)/cloudfrontuseast1.images.arcpublishing.com/estadao/DRQBYUOSEVFJLGIQXEXFRY3D2I.jpg "Germany authorizes the shipment of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, the German press reports 3")
Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a press conference in Paris on Sunday 22. According to the German press, Scholz approved the shipment of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine Photo: Benoit Tessier/Portal
The Germanmade tanks are being cited by military strategists as the best option to support Kiev’s land actions due to their greater availability on European soil and being dieselpowered while the American Abrahms use aviation fuel, which would require a more complex logistics line to deliver to keep them in operation.
For months Ukraine has been demanding the use of war tanks to stem the advance of Russian troops and drive them off their territory. Until then, the West was reluctant to send them, limiting itself to supplies of other equipment such as weapons, ammunition, rocket launchers and air defense systems, but Ukrainian pressure grew after the Russian defeats in the months leading up to the Northern Hemisphere winter and the war that ensued approaching a year.
The first countries to announce the sending of war tanks and armored vehicles to the Ukrainians were the United Kingdom and the US. The British promised to send 14 Challenger tanks. The US has announced the Strykers and Bradley armored vehicles, which will serve as troop carriers, and are beginning to discuss the use of M1 Abrams tanks.
According to American officials, the Abrams deployment, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, was discussed after Germany’s reluctance to send the Leopard 2 was exposed in debates among NATO chiefs. German officials privately insisted they would only send the tanks if the United States agreed to send their own M1 Abrams tanks. Publicly, American and German officials denied that the two issues were linked.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made Germany’s last public statement on the use of tanks last week. Pistorius said no deal had been finalized but that the country would make a decision “as soon as possible”.
Pressure was also growing from the countries that have the Leopard 2 in their arsenal, but that needed Berlin’s approval because it was German equipment. Such is the case with Poland, which this Tuesday officially requested to send the tanks. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had already announced on Sunday 22nd that she would not try to prevent Poland from delivering them to Ukraine.
The tanks reinforce the offensive power of the Ukrainian military at a time when the war is entering a new assault phase due to the end of winter. According to NATO, they must be deployed now before Russia launches new offensives against Ukraine.
According to military experts, Leopard tanks are decisive for the success of the Ukrainians this year. The equipment carries four occupants and can fire at targets up to 5 kilometers away. The tank weighs around 60 tons and can reach a speed of almost 70 km/h. He can cross flooded areas and rivers up to four meters deep and has a periscope.
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Germany has more than 350 active Leopard 2 tanks ready to enter service and another 200 in storage, according to the Polish prime minister. Mateusz Morawiecki. However, there is a question mark among analysts as to whether the amount will be enough to contain the Russians. “German and British tanks are individually better than Russian tanks. But does that quality surpass Moscow’s numbers?” asked Eric Gomez, director of defense policy studies at the Cato Institute.
“The rate of casualties on the front lines and the rate at which military equipment is being destroyed is such that it is questionable how long these tanks will survive on the battlefield,” he added. /WITH INFORMATION FROM EFE, NYT AND W.POST AND COLLABORATION BY RENATO VASCONCELOS