Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Twelve Countries To Supply Ukraine With Leopard 2 Tanks



This is a good start, but more are needed:

Twelve countries have agreed to supply Ukraine with around 100 Leopard 2 tanks if the German government gives its consent, according to a senior Ukrainian official who spoke exclusively to ABC News.

Those agreements, the source said, were made at Friday's summit at Ramstein US Air Force Base in Germany when allied nations discussed military support for Ukraine.

Countries such as Poland and Finland have already indicated publicly that they are willing to provide a number of their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian official with knowledge of the matter said Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark were also willing to provide some of their tanks, however Germany's consent was still necessary for the coalition of countries to proceed on the matter.

As the country where the military hardware is manufactured, Germany has to approve the export license if countries want to supply some of their tanks to a third nation, such as Ukraine.

The Biden administration and other western governments are working to increase Ukraine's military capabilities ahead of a possible escalation in the fighting in the coming weeks or months...

The German government has indicated it will approve the transfer of the highly effective Leopard 2's if a formal request is made.  Germany has a moral and strategic obligation to move expeditiously, and to also provide as many of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as it can -- now.