Germany will support Ukraine to “win” the war against Russia, despite the absence at this stage of a decision on the thorny issue of Leopard tank deliveries to Ukraine, it said on Tuesday. German Defense Minister.
“We support Ukraine so that it does not lose, so that it wins this war against Russia”, indicated Boris Pistorius in an interview on German television ZDF.
“Germany is doing more for this than any ally except the United States,” he said.
The German government is under increasing pressure to allow its NATO allies to deliver German-made Leopard heavy tanks to Ukraine, which Kyiv has requested to fight the Russian army.
“I understand the concerns and fears of Ukrainian friends. Germany has a special responsibility and role,” Mr Pistorius admitted.
But “we have to think carefully about what we can do,” he said, repeating that Berlin did not want to “go it alone”.
The Minister is meeting the Secretary General of NATO on Tuesday to discuss this question in particular.
Poland and Finland have offered to deliver Leopards that they own, but need official approval from Berlin for re-export.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to comment on the question of these indirect deliveries, just like on that of directly supplying Leopards from German stocks.
Warsaw increased the pressure by announcing that it had sent an official request to Berlin, while assuring that it was ready to do without the approval of its still undecided neighbor.
Despite these tensions, “there is no break within the alliance,” said Mr. Pistorius.
“If the decision takes one, or two days, that’s how it is,” he added, responding to criticism of the supposed slowness of German decision-making.
Fear of a military escalation with Moscow and Berlin’s reluctance to assume leadership in the Western camp are leading Germany to hesitate about sending the weapons requested by Kyiv, according to analysts.