Germany Stalls On Tank Provision Following Ramstein Meeting

The new German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated that "All pros and cons must be weighed very carefully," on the issue of whether to send full battle tanks to Ukraine in a signal that Kyiv will not be in receipt of German Leopard 2 tanks any time soon. The Defence Ministry tweeted that Pistorius, "clarified that "Germany will not cease to support Ukraine". Further support measures are being prepared. The minister also ordered a report on the availability of battle tanks."

• Sunniva Rose at The National comments that Pistorius claimed the decision was up to "another ministry and the chancellor".
• Reuters: "The German government said on Friday it had no information on an official request to Germany from any country for permission to re-export German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine."
• The lack of progress in the provision of Leopard 2 tanks is seen by some observers as due to concerns in Berlin that the direct provision of modern battle tanks to Ukraine by NATO members could see Moscow claim the conflict is now pitting Russia directly against NATO, risking a wider conflagration.
• Should Kyiv gain a sizeable number of battle tanks it could allow Ukrainian forces to recapture and hold sizeable sections of its territory from Russian troops. Most of the military equipment received so far, such as HIMARS, Patriot missiles, and drones, have been largely defensive in nature compared to the offensive capabilities of battle tanks.