Germany does not yet give in to Allied pressure to deliver Leopard tanks

Germany is not yielding for the moment to international pressure to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine, and ensures that it is not the only allied country that is "prudent" in this regard, according to the talks held by allied representatives on military aid to Ukraine sponsored by the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the US Ramstein base on German territory.

The German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, said this Friday that, in military aid to the country attacked by Russia, "the number one priority is anti-aircraft defense", and that no joint decisions have been made on the delivery of battle tanks. Leopard to Ukraine or authorization to other countries that have this type of German-made tanks to do so.

Military support for Kyiv

Dozens of allied defense ministers are meeting at the US base of Ramstein, in German territory

“There are good reasons for the renditions and there are good reasons against it, and given the whole situation of a war that has been going on for almost a year, all the pros and cons have to be weighed very carefully,” Pistorius said. However, as "the decision could still come", Pistorius said that he has commissioned his Ministry to review the stock of Leopard 2 that he has.

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MARIA-PAZ LOPEZ | BERLIN. CORRESPONDENT

When eleven months of war are about to end after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 of last year, the Ukrainian army puts up a fight and endures, but Kyiv demands heavy Western-made battle tanks to face the offensive that , according to military analysts, plans to launch Vladimir Putin around the first anniversary of the war.

"We greatly appreciate all the support received so far and their anti-aircraft defense systems, but we need artillery and tanks," Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky had said in a virtual address from Kyiv in the morning, at the opening of the work. “We have to act quickly, time must be on our side, it must be one of our weapons, just like armored fighting vehicles and air defense systems,” Zelensky said.

The American Austin had said in the initial greeting that “Russia is regrouping, recruiting and trying to re-equip”, so “this is not a time to slow down; It's time to dig deeper." And he concluded: "The Ukrainian people are watching us," without making any reference to the tanks Kyiv craves.