In Germany, it has been emphasized more than once that they do not want to supply the Ukrainian army with heavy weapons first. Thus, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his readiness to send Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv if the United States supplies Abrams tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vice Chancellor Robert Habek explained Germany’s position with its history, and Spiegel called the transfer of weapons to Kyiv absurd due to the unsatisfactory state of technology of the Bundeswehr.
In turn, Deputy Pentagon Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said that the United States sees no point in transferring Abrams tanks to Kyiv because of the difficulties of their maintenance.
At a meeting in Ramstein on January 20, NATO countries and other allies of Ukraine failed to agree on the supply of Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, as reported by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
He appointed an inspection to assess the consequences of sending Leopard to Ukraine, and stressed that Germany needs to think about its army, also noting that Berlin will continue to supply weapons to Kyiv.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly emphasized that any shipments of weapons supplied by Western countries to Ukraine would be a legitimate target for the Russian Aerospace Forces. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the supply of weapons would not stop, but would prolong the conflict in Ukraine, and called the position of Western countries “harmful” and “counterproductive.”
