Ukraine: Leopard tanks from Poland, Germany's decision soon

Germany is ready to allow Poland to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine. This was stated by German Foreign Minister Analina Berbock. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the decision to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine would be made soon. . Speaking in an interview with Germany’s ARD television, Pistorius said that Berlin had many factors to consider and that there was no need to make a hasty decision. These factors include the consequences for the security of the German population

Berbock said that Germany would “not object” to Poland’s desire to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine if Warsaw requested permission.. “If the request is presented to us, we will not oppose it,” the German minister told French television “LCI” after the summit between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. “At the moment, the question has not been asked” by Poland, which is required to make a formal request to Berlin, Berbock said. “We know how important these tanks are and that’s why we are discussing them now with our partners. We have to make sure that people’s lives are saved and the territory of Ukraine is liberated,” he added.

The question of supplying Leopard tanks to Kyiv would have caused tensions between the United States and Germany as much as provoking a clash between the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and the German Chancellor Olaf Schultz’s closest advisor, Wolfgang Schmidt.. This was corroborated by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in an article republished by the Ukrainian media. According to the publication, Washington would have been particularly outraged by the fact that the German government publicly set conditions for the supply of the Panthers to Ukraine, accepting transfers only if the US had supplied Abrams tanks. “Germany’s NATO allies reacted with neither explicit understanding nor hidden anger at Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision not to commit to supplying Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The tone in the US government was particularly sharp,” the article stated. Austin reportedly tried in vain at the Rammstein meeting to secure commitments to supply German tanks. The bulletin reports that Austin had fallen out with Schulz’s closest aides and that the meeting between the two officials was reportedly “tense”. The newspaper also reported that US President’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan strongly criticized Germany’s actions in a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Jens Pletner.

In Italy, he examined a decree extending the government’s authorization to send weapons to Ukraine for the whole of 2023, a measure already approved by the Senate, which is supposed to receive final approval from Montecitorio by Thursday. This passage should confirm what happened in the Palazzo Madama and in the commissariat, namely, the unity of the majority to approve the ruling, while raising doubts about the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia, and a new differentiation in opposition, with Pd and the third pole to support military support for Kiev, and M5s and Avs against The shipment of weapons, and among them – Minister Antonio Tajani emphasized – there should be new surface-to-air missiles of Franco-Italian construction.

“The sixth decree will be there and I think it will be shared by almost the entire parliament. It will give the Ukrainians a chance to defend themselves against air strikes. It means missiles that shoot down other missiles.” Defense Minister Guido Crocito said this during ‘Che tempo che fa’ on Ray 3.

“We’re really curious to see how the different competitions, Pd, 5 Stars, Greens and others, will behave – FDE leader Tommaso Foti commented – with the certainty that this front is destined to split”. A concept also reiterated by Giovanni Donzelli, Emanuele Loperfido and Elisabetta Guardini. The “certainty” voiced by Foti is also based on what happened last week in the foreign and defense committees: here the M5s declared, with Marco Pellegrini , that “the decree, by extending arms shipments, departs from the goal of protecting human lives and prolongs the conflict.”

The democrats immediately disputed the thesis with Piero Fasino, who stressed that it was the military parity between Kyiv and Moscow that forces Putin to negotiate.. The view is also supported by centre-right advocates. M5s and Nicola Fratoianni introduced two amendments, which were rejected by the two committees, which demanded parliamentary approval for each shipment of weapons. A polemic, which however does not translate into a split in the vote, is recorded on the right of center with the League disputing the efficacy of sanctions against Russia: Simone Pelli did it in the Commission and so did Massimiliano Romeo in the Senate. But the problem will be in the field of opposition: in the face of, until today, the conviction of yes candidates for the secretariat of the Democratic Party Stefano Bonaccini and Eli Schlin for military support in Kyiv, a new “Nate” who will oppose Giuseppe Conte, because he will not make a filibuster in the Senate. So far, with several ministerial decrees, there have been five shipments of arms in 2022 and in an interview with Corriere della Sera, Minister Tajani explained that a “sixth package” is being prepared, which should include Samp-T, Italian-French manufacturing, It is necessary for the air defense of Ukraine to shoot down Russian missiles and drones provided by Iran “but also” other measures that we are working on discreetly. “Moreover, Italy supports every possible attempt to reach a just peace, which means Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity,” he said, noting that if it is true that “the conflict must end as soon as possible, then for the allied countries of Ukraine it should be clear that we must do all we can to assist this nation in its fight for independence.” He finally reassured Parliament, “He will always be informed of every initiative and any future shipment of military materiel. I remind you that the Ukrainian decree extended the possibility of supplies until 2023. We will honor our commitment.”