Ukraine announces vote on UN special tribunal

Created: 01/13/2023 11:27 am

By: Caspar Felix Hoffmann, Daniel Dillmann, Nadja Austel

The debate about the supply of main battle tanks continues to escalate.

Chancellor Scholz is coming under increasing pressure.

The news ticker.

• UN General Assembly:

  Kiev announces vote on UN special tribunal

• Scholz under pressure:

  debate about possible main battle tank deliveries to Ukraine

• Weapons for Ukraine:

  who supplies which tanks for the fight against Russia?

• All news and developments from the Ukraine conflict in our newsticker.

+++ 11.27 a.m .:

The debate about the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine continues on Friday (January 13).

The deputy chairman of the Union faction in the Bundestag, Johann Wadephul (CDU), accused the Chancellor of stubbornness.

"Everyone wants it.

Finland wants to deliver, Spain has been wanting for a long time, Poland has now gone on the offensive and the stubborn chancellor is in the way," said the defense expert on Friday on RTL and ntv's "Frühstart" program.

"Germany must take the lead in defending freedom in Ukraine," Wadephul continued.

This role is lost due to the current hesitation.

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth (SPD), defended Chancellor Scholz's position on Deutschlandfunk.

"I don't see it as procrastination," he said.

"I see this as a cautious approach that also takes into account the fact that our society is divided on these issues." 

Bundeswehr Leopard 2 main battle tank for Ukraine: The pressure on Chancellor Scholz is growing.

© Björn Trotsky/imago-images

Roth nevertheless advocated a quick decision on the delivery of modern battle tanks.

"We have announcements from our British partners that they might deliver main battle tanks, but we also received a clear signal from Warsaw that this should not be done alone, but in close coordination with international partners," said Roth.

"We're going to talk about that now.

And at least I didn't hear a no from the federal government.

I don't see any red lines as far as weapon systems go."

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News in the Ukraine war: Kyiv announces vote on UN special tribunal

+++ 7.15 a.m .:

The UN General Assembly is to vote on setting up a special tribunal to investigate Russian war crimes.

This was announced by Emine Dzhaparova, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister, at a UN Security Council debate.

"We call on all responsible states to support the resolution establishing the tribunal, which we will submit to the General Assembly for consideration." The signal to everyone present in this room is: Nobody is safe anymore".

News in the Ukraine war: debate about possible main battle tank deliveries to Ukraine

Update from January 13, 2023, 4:55 a.m .:

The Chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), increases the pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the debate about possible main battle tank deliveries to Ukraine.

Germany must finally issue the export license for the delivery of the Leopard 2, she told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Friday, January 13).

"The chancellor should jump over his shadow in view of the drama in Ukraine."

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US signals support

+++ 11.30 p.m .:

The USA wants to support its allies in continuing to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine.

"We support providing Ukraine with any means that would give it an advantage on the battlefield," Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said at a news conference.

This included tanks.

Ryder also referred to the meeting in Ramstein next week: "I assume that we will also discuss this topic there.

+++ 10:52 p.m .:

Representatives of the Ukrainian military have again emphasized the importance of modern tanks for the further course of the war.

This is reported by the US news portal

.

While Kyiv welcomed Washington's announcement that it would send Bradley armored personnel carriers, they continued to push for the delivery of Abrams tanks.

“Bradleys are like a sandwich, it's good when you're hungry.

But an Abrams is like a full meal," Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, told

Finland wants to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine

+++ 10:05 p.m .:

In the discussion about the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine, Finland is now signaling its willingness to provide Leopard 2 tanks to the country attacked by Russia.

In the event of a common European approach, his country will also make a contribution, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö told the STT news agency. 

However, Finland is in a special position as it is not yet a NATO member and shares a common border with Russia.

The Finnish contribution could therefore not be particularly large.

According to the STT, the country has more than 200 German-made Leopard 2 tanks.

As a rule, however, the Federal Republic must approve the transfer of armaments produced in Germany.

Battle tanks for Ukraine: who wants to deliver what?

• Poland:

  Warsaw ready to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine

• Finland:

  Helsinki also ready to provide Kiev Leopard tanks

• UK:

  London considers delivery of Challenger 2 light main battle tanks

• France:

  Paris announces to send 30 models of AMX-10 RC infantry fighting vehicle

• Czech Republic:

  Prague supplies Soviet T-72 tanks.

  The USA will bear the costs for this

• Germany:

  So far, armored personnel carriers of the Marder type have come from Berlin

• USA:

  Washington has agreed to provide Bradley armored personnel carriers

Movement in debate about main battle tanks for Ukraine

First report from Thursday, January 12, 9:15 p.m .:

Berlin – Germany should not stand in the way of Poland if the country wants to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine.

That said Robert Habeck (Greens) on Thursday (January 12, 2023).

With this move, the Vice Chancellor is bringing new impetus to the debate about the delivery of modern offensive weapons in the Ukraine war - and is putting his Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) under a lot of pressure.

Because Scholz had always refused the delivery of battle tanks for Kyiv.

And Habeck, who as Economics Minister monitors German arms exports, emphasized that his statement should not be equated with a decision by the federal government.

But there is a "difference between making a decision for yourself and preventing others from making a decision," says Habeck.

Germany should "not stand in the way when other countries make decisions to support Ukraine." The government must allow Poland to transfer the Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Olaf Scholz has the last word on this question.

Scholz under pressure for delivery of Leopard 2 to Ukraine

Even if Habeck avoided speaking out in favor of the delivery of main battle tanks from Germany, his words clearly increased the pressure on the Chancellor – like the reports from Great Britain days earlier.

Rishi Sunak's government had hinted that it would supply Challenger 2 light tanks to fight against Russia.

In addition to Habeck, the other coalition partner of the SPD also spoke up.

FDP defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann told

that Ukrainian soldiers should be trained on the Leopard 2 as a precaution.

And even parts of the SPD seem to be rethinking battle tanks.

Rolf Mützenich no longer ruled out the delivery.

There "are no red lines," said the leader of the Social Democrats, according to

.

But ultimately, when it comes to western battle tanks in the Ukraine war, everything looks to the USA.

So far, Joe Biden's government has made no move to provide the Abrams main battle tanks demanded by Kyiv.

The Pentagon hesitates, citing the high maintenance costs of the heavy vehicles as the reason.

A division of main battle tanks would use more than 200,000 liters of gasoline a day.

The Abrams tank is "a gas guzzler that's also difficult to maintain," said Laura Cooper, Assistant Secretary of Defense.

The US could also supply battle tanks to Ukraine

However, according to research by

, the debate about tank deliveries to Ukraine is not yet over in the USA either.

One is "not close to a decision," but one is constantly discussing it, an anonymous Defense Department official told the US news portal.

And so, once again, Ramstein could become the place where Western support for Ukraine in the fight against Russia reaches a new level.

Representatives of the NATO countries will meet for the third time on Friday (January 20, 2023) at the US military base there to discuss further aid for Ukraine.

This time, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov will also be there, with whom, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, advice will be given on which weapons the country needs for defense.

But given the speed with which more and more German politicians are committed to the delivery of battle tanks like the Leopard 2, a decision could be made much earlier.

(Talk to agencies)