“Leopard” tanks for Ukraine?
Germany Foreign Minister Baerbock has spoken out in favor of now also supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine. There is already a concrete offer from the armaments group Rheinmetall. Chancellor Scholz spoke cautiously.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had just spoken out in favor of the delivery of heavy weapons when the new offer from the German armaments group Rheinmetall became known. Up to 50 battle tanks are available. “The first “Leopard 1″ could be delivered in six weeks,” said the CEO of the Düsseldorf gunsmith, Armin Papperger, the “Handelsblatt”.
The condition of the vehicles is currently being checked, said Papperger. The delivery can be made via the subsidiary Rheinmetall Italia and can be processed over a period of up to three months. According to Papperger, Ukrainian soldiers could be trained to use the “Leopard 1” within a few days.
The main battle tanks are old stocks from other armies. The Bundeswehr, among others, has long been using the successor model “Leopard 2”, the first version of which was introduced to the troops in 1979. Rheinmetall also has decommissioned Marder armored personnel carriers. The Düsseldorf company had also promised to be able to deliver 70 copies within six to eight months. According to Rheinmetall, the first ten could be dispatched within five weeks.
Baerbock for heavy weapons
A prerequisite for such a transfer would be the approval of the federal government. So far, Germany has delivered anti-aircraft missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns to Ukraine, among other things. Heavy weapons – i.e. battle tanks, combat aircraft, warships or artillery pieces – were not included.
Heavy weapons are now to follow – at least if the Foreign Minister has her way. Baerbock said on the fringes of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg that Ukraine “needs above all heavy weapons.” “Now is no time for excuses, now is the time for creativity and pragmatism.” Baerbock did not say which heavy weapons could be delivered from Germany to Ukraine.
However, she signaled her approval for an increase in EU military aid to 1.5 billion euros. The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had suggested this.
Traffic light signals approval
Defense politicians from the traffic light factions want to support a delivery of the decommissioned Leopard 1 tanks. The decisive question is what Germany can deliver, said the security policy spokeswoman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Sara Nanni, to the “Handelsblatt”. Using a Leopard 1 well and safely is no easy task. “But in that case Ukraine knows better than I do whether it would still help them.”
The defense policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Marcus Faber, made a similar statement: “The point is that you have to be trained a little more intensively on the Leopard 1,” he told the newspaper. “But if the Ukrainians want the tank, and they signaled that to me, then a way should be found.”
The designated FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Saai welcomed Baerbock’s demand. He told the ARD capital studio that he very much hoped that “the device would now be made available to the Ukrainian army quickly and easily.” Should the Bundeswehr’s options for supplying weapons be exhausted, he expects that pragmatic alternatives will be sought quickly.
