Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Sunday called “unacceptable” Berlin’s refusal to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which urgently needs them to fight Russian forces.
“The attitude of Germany is unacceptable. It has been almost a year since the war started. Innocent people are dying every day. Russian bombs wreak havoc in Ukrainian cities. Civilian targets are attacked, women and children are killed,” said Mateusz Morawiecki against the PAP bureau.
The statements by the Polish head of state come two days after a meeting that brought together about 50 countries at the US base in Ramstein, Germany.
Ukraine’s allies announced further substantial arms shipments to Ukraine, but could not agree on the supply of Leopard main battle tanks despite repeated requests from Ukraine.
The Polish prime minister said he was waiting for “a clear statement” from Berlin authorizing the shipment of leopards, of which he is a producer, through the countries that have them.
Poland, which said it was ready to deliver 14 Leopard tanks to Kiev, says it is in talks with about 15 countries, AFP writes.
Morawiecki stressed that if Berlin refuses to supply Kiev with these tanks, they will form “a small coalition of countries” willing to “donate some of their modern equipment, their modern tanks, to a struggling Ukraine”.
On Saturday, the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called on the German government to “immediately” send Leopard tanks to Ukraine to help the Ukrainian army against the Russian invasion.
Source: DN
