After months of discussions, Germany is supplying Ukraine with Leopard tanks.
The Russian embassy in Berlin rumbles.
News ticker on war diplomacy.
Russian response
to
Leopard delivery
: Embassy draws "Eastern Front" comparison
Zelenskyy Responds
to
Leopard 2
Announcement: "Really Grateful"
Ready for action
in
three
months
: Berlin promises rapid delivery of 14 Leopard tanks
Decision
in the
Leopard dispute
: Berlin wants to deliver tanks to Kiev
This
news ticker on diplomatic developments in the Ukraine war
is constantly updated.
Update from January 25, 4:35 p.m
.: “Refuel nicely”: Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis welcomed the planned Leopard 2 deliveries with this play on words.
His tweet included an icon with a stylized tank with the Ukraine flag.
Tank is the English word for tank.
The other Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also praised Berlin's decision on Twitter.
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A Leopard 2-A6 main battle tank (stock image)
© Philipp Schulze/dpa
Russian Response to Leopard Delivery: Embassy Draws “Eastern Front” Comparison
Update from January 25, 3:14 p.m
.: The Russian embassy rumbles after the announcement of the traffic light coalition.
"Berlin's decision to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv is extremely dangerous because it takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation," Ambassador Sergei Nechayev said, according to a press release.
The step means "a definitive turning away from the Federal Republic of Germany's admission of historical responsibility towards our people for the terrible, non-statute-barred crimes of Nazism in the Great Patriotic War," said the 69-year-old.
Nechayev criticized that German tanks were being sent back to the “Eastern Front”, which meant the deaths not only of Russian soldiers but also of the civilian population.
Zelenskyy Responds to Leopard 2 Announcement: "Sincerely Grateful"
Update from January 25, 2:25 p.m
.: Volodymyr Selenskyj thanked Germany on Twitter for the announced Leopard deliveries.
The Ukrainian President wrote that he was "sincerely grateful" to Chancellor Scholz and all allies.
He found out about this "important and timely" decision through a phone call with the German Chancellor:
German main battle tanks, further broadening of defense support & training missions, green light for partners to supply similar weapons.
Just heard about these important & timely decisions in a call with @OlafScholz.
Sincerely grateful to the Chancellor and all our friends in 🇩🇪.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 25, 2023
Ready for action in three months: Berlin promises rapid delivery of 14 Leopard tanks
Update from January 25, 1:05 p.m
.: When will the first German Leopard tanks arrive in Ukraine?
In about three months, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) estimates.
The Bundeswehr will now "very quickly" start training Ukrainian soldiers on the tank and clarifying supply routes, Pistorius said after a meeting of the Bundestag Defense Committee.
Pistorius described the decision to deliver the main battle tanks as "historic because it was coordinated internationally and because it happened in a highly explosive situation in Ukraine".
The minister added: "This is an important game changer, possibly in this war or in this phase of the war." However, critics warn that the Leopard 2 is a misjudgment.
And what are other countries contributing?
A current overview of main battle tank deliveries.
Update from January 25, 12:48 p.m
.: In addition to the delivery of 14 Leopard main battle tanks, the training of the Ukrainian crews in Germany should “start quickly”.
The support package includes "in addition to training, logistics, ammunition and system maintenance," said Chancellor Scholz at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, according to his spokesman.
Germany delivers 14 Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine
Update from January 25, 11:41 a.m
.: What is the specific procedure with the Leopard 2 A6 deliveries?
According to a statement by the federal government, Germany will initially “quickly” provide a company with 14 vehicles.
They come from Bundeswehr stocks.
Other European partners would also hand over Leopard-2 tanks.
Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness
Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness
Russian Defense Ministry sees "red lines" crossed
Update from January 25, 10:19 a.m
.: The West has long since crossed “red lines”, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The United States has now openly declared that it wants to "defeat" Russia, according to the state news agency Tass.
"We can't help but face that truth."
The ministry was thus commenting on previous statements by Russian UN MP Dmitri Polyansky, who said that “not all red lines have been crossed yet”, although the West is now “de facto” involved in the Ukraine war.
Decision in the Leopard dispute: Berlin wants to deliver tanks to Kyiv
First report from January 25
: Munich – The discussions about the German Leopard tanks have lasted for several months.
On Tuesday evening (January 24) the long-awaited announcement from Ukraine finally came.
Berlin will supply the Ukrainian military with Leopard main battle tanks to help defend against Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin's war of aggression.
Leopard 2 delivery: Selenskyj expresses reluctance and sees "greater need"
Despite the good news for Kyiv, the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy was cautious.
"Many efforts, words, promises," he said in a video address Tuesday night.
It is more important to see the reality.
“It's not about five or ten or fifteen tanks.
The need is greater,” he emphasized.
Ukraine tries every day to compensate for the lack of heavy battle tanks.
"And I thank each and every one of you who supports us," said Zelenskyj.
The discussions about the supply of tanks must now lead to decisions "that really strengthen our defense against (Russian) terrorists," the president demanded.
Ukraine's allies had the required number of tanks.
"If we have the necessary weight in decisions, we will gladly thank you for every single important decision," Zelenskyj said.
The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany and Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk praised the decision as a historic “game changer” that “will go down in history”, even if it comes with a delay.
The fact that Chancellor Olaf Scholz apparently helped convince the United States to deliver Abrams tanks is even "a double tank boom," according to Melnyk.
According to US media, Washington is preparing itself for a delivery.
Ukraine News: Will the Leopard delivery have a negative impact on the Bundeswehr?
In Germany, in addition to praise for the decision, there are also voices of concern.
These revolve primarily around the consequences for the Bundeswehr.
According to the chairman of the Bundeswehr Association, André Wüstner, the readiness for use will be further weakened by the expected delivery.
The delivery was "good for Ukraine on the one hand, bad for the operational readiness of the Bundeswehr on the other hand," said Wüstner in the ZDF "Morgenmagazin".
One should not believe that the Ukraine war will be over in two or three months - and that the tanks already delivered and promised by Germany will not remain.
"In the last few months it has been said that we are only partially ready to defend - if at all," said Wüstner.
He added: "The truth is, since February we have continued to give away weapons equipment and ammunition.
We are still in free fall, we still have no turning point with regard to our own ability to defend ourselves. "
(bb / dpa)
List of rubrics: © Philipp Schulze/dpa
