Germany refuses request to send tanks to Ukraine
Stalemate as coalition of 50 allied nations at Ramstein meeting fail to form plan for military aid
‘The Ukrainian people are watching us. The Kremlin is watching us. And history is watching us’
GERMANY yesterday refused to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after a “historic” weapons pledging summit failed to bridge deep divides with the US and other allies.
Boris Pistorius, the newly-appointed German defence secretary, did not rule out sending the tanks in future or granting export licenses to other European nations that possess the German-made tanks. However, Berlin’s reluctance to approve either move yesterday dashed hopes of a breakthrough to bolster Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces, which are expected to face a fresh Russian offensive in the spring.
The Ukrainian president had urged defence ministers from 50 nations to make the meeting at Ramstein airbase in Germany a “Ramstein of tanks”.
Opening the summit, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, called on allies to “dig deeper”, saying: “The Ukrainian people are watching us. The Kremlin is watching us. And history is watching us.”
Mr Pistorius said a decision could be taken within a month on whether Germany will release the Leopard “and ordered a stock check of Berlin’s arsenal to see what could be given to Ukraine.
However, he said he did not know “what the decision will be” on final approval, suggesting it rested with Olaf Scholz, the chancellor. He denied that Germany was blocking delivery of tanks, saying that other allies shared Berlin’s concerns about escalating the war without careful consideration.
Mr Scholz has so far refused to grant export licences to the European countries that want to send their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, including Poland and Finland, for fear of provoking Vladimir Putin into spreading the war to the West.
Officials in Kyiv said the meeting at Ramstein in Germany was not the end of discussions and that they were confident Germany would agree to release the tanks in the coming days or weeks.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelensky, said they could be on the battlefield within two months if the decision was made now, and that Ukraine could win the war “this year” if enough were delivered.
Earlier in the week, Mr Scholz told Joe Biden he would only allow Leopards to be delivered if the US president sent Ukraine M1 Abrams tanks, which Washington has ruled out because they are costly and hard to maintain.
The US confirmed yesterday that it would not send Abrams but Mr Pistorius appeared to change course by saying Germany could send its Leopard 2 without the US going first. The decisions were “not linked”, he said.
As the summit at the Ramstein US air base began, Mr Zelensky made an impassioned plea for Berlin to back down in the stand-off, which German media dubbed “panzer poker”.
“We have to speed up. Time must become our weapon, just like air defence and artillery, armoured vehicles and tanks, which we are negotiating about with you and which will actually make a victory,” Mr Zelensky said via video link.
“You can start this policy today.” Kyiv has been calling for the powerful Leopard 2 to press offensives against Russian troops, who are feared to be
‘You can start this policy today. It is in your power to make a Ramstein of tanks ... that will stop Russian evil’
AS HE walked into the Ramstein air base, Boris Pistorius stepped out of obscurity and on to the world stage, right into the middle of an international furore over Berlin’s perceived lack of support for Ukraine.
Representatives from no fewer than 50 nations had gathered in Germany to pledge more weapons to Kyiv’s fight against the Russian invaders ... and the press was waiting for a decision.
Just days ago, few people at the US air force base had heard of Mr Pistorius, a bespectacled, 62-year-old social democrat. However, that was before Chancellor Olaf Scholz plucked him from his role as the interior minister of Lower Saxony and put him in the line of fire. Now, all eyes were fixed on Germany’s new and untested defence minister. His name was on everybody’s lips.
Would he be the man to finally give the green light for German-manufactured Leopard tanks to be sent to Ukraine? Many European armies have Leopards but they can’t send them to answer President Volodymr Zelensky’s call for help without German permission, which Mr Scholz has so far denied.
International pressure was building for weeks on the German leader and now expectation that Berlin was on the cusp of caving in was building fast.
Mr Pistorius, a lawyer by profession, was doing his best to get to grips with his brief. On his first day he instructed officials to draw up a glossary of military jargon in English before meeting his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on Thursday. He was also seen with a guide to the German army’s ranks and insignia. His only consolation was that he could hardly do a worse job than his predecessor, Christine Lambrecht, who resigned after a string of blunders.
The Ramstein meeting came after weeks of Ukrainian demands for the Leopards to be freed. Allies, including Britain, which promised Kyiv its Challenger 2 battle tanks in a bid to force Berlin’s hand, along with Poland, France and Spain, all begged, cajoled and threatened Mr Scholz.
There was even high-level diplomacy between the chancellor, who is reluctant to risk escalating the war, and US president Joe Biden. Mr Scholz played another card in what has been dubbed “panzer poker” by telling Mr Biden that Berlin would send Leopards only if Washington sent M1 Abrams tanks. Later, he made the same demand at the economic summit in Davos, Switzerland.
The United States has no intention of caving. Officials told CNN the German demands were “silly” because of the logistics of repairs and maintenance for the M1 Abrams, which would be far less complicated in the case of the Leopards.
It looked like there would be no way around the stand-off. Then, Mr Pistorius gave his first interview.
He said he there was “no link” between the US decision not to send tanks and any German decision. Was this the sign of a split between Mr Pistorius and his boss Mr Scholz? Or simply a miscommunication or misstep?
Either way it raised expectation of a German climbdown, especially after US officials briefed that they were “very confident” of progress at Ramstein.
Ramstein was a baptism of fire for Mr Pistorius, who will have been made aware of Western allies’ fears that Russia is plotting a fresh offensive. And Mr Zelensky did not miss the chance to keep the heat on Berlin. “You can start this policy today. It is in your power to make a Ramstein of tanks ... that will stop Russian evil,” he said.
Mr Austin said: “This is not a moment to slow down. It is a time to dig deeper.”
The German concession never came. Perhaps Mr Scholz had one eye on public opinion at home. According to a survey published yesterday, only 46 per cent of Germans favour sending tanks, with 43 per cent against.
Mr Pistorius held a press conference on the margins of the talks and said there was no “unanimous opinion” on the tank deliveries. It was an encounter that did little to satisfy the press, who soon turned their fire on a hulking Mr Austin, who was at pains to praise Britain for sending the Challengers.
He had nothing to announce in terms of US deliveries of Abrams, he added, but Germany was a “reliable ally”.
The day had begun by promising much but in the end delivered precious little. Critics of Mr Scholz will point out that this is an accusation regularly aimed at the German chancellor since the war in Ukraine began.