On the day he was appointed Minister of Defense of Germany, Boris Pistorius heard in Davos the Presidents of Poland and Lithuania and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland ask Berlin for permission to transfer the German-made Leopard 2 war tanks to Ukraine, as well as to send the Bundeswehr tanks. Pistorius boss Olaf Scholz is speaking today at the World Economic Forum, where Kiev’s mayor saw “good news” coming.
There is a new defense minister in Latvia, Inara Murniece. The former speaker of the Latvian parliament visited Kiev, but despite her country being the second largest donor of aid to Ukraine as a percentage of GDP, attention in Europe turned to the defense portfolio in Berlin, where the resigned Christine Lambrecht became replaced by Boris Pistorius.
According to Deutsche Welle, Minister of the Interior of the Lower Saxony region for nine years, Pistorius gained popularity by implementing a reform of the police services. The new minister, unlike many SPD colleagues, showed unconditional support for Ukraine early on and defended Kiev’s right to retake Russian-held territories.
The 62-year-old Social Democrat joins the coalition government at a crucial time for Germany’s armed forces, which must implement a €100 billion modernization programme. But also for Ukraine, which has been asking its allies for tanks for months. So far, Kiev has received more than 300, 260 of them from Poland, but all from the Soviet era.
The Ukrainian president has asked partner countries for heavy weapons and long-range missiles for the Ukrainian army to create the conditions for a new phase of the counter-offensive. Until recently, the West was unwilling to listen to Volodymyr Zelensky, partly because it did not want its armies to run out of equipment, partly because it did not want to provide offensive weapons that would prompt Russia to respond with a new front of war . war.
“Tanks are an extremely important strategic factor for this war,” said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
Finally, after France announced the shipment of a “light tank”, the AMX-10 RC, the UK pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks, while the US pledged 50 Bradley fighting vehicles. But what can make a difference – due to the number of tanks available in about 20 countries, making vehicle maintenance and military training easier – are the Leopard 2. After Poland made 14 available, as part of a joint effort, Finland, via Foreign Affairs Minister Pekka Haavisto said in Davos that it is ready to participate.
Also at the World Economic Forum, the Lithuanian president appealed to Berlin to leave hesitation behind. “Someone has to take the lead and make the decision to support Ukraine, because tanks are an extremely important strategic factor for this war,” said Gitanas Nauseda, while Pole Andrzej Duda said the German initiative was a “very, much, much, much needed”.
Source: DN
