Bloomberg: Berlin concerned about allies' Leopard 2 commitments

The Kyiv Independent news desk
·1 min read
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Germany is pushing European allies to provide Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 8, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

Berlin is concerned that European countries may not provide enough Leopard 2s to form two battalions or 62 vehicles, as promised.

Germany wants allies to provide concrete and detailed commitments by the end of the week, according to Bloomberg. This would allow Ukraine Defense Contact Group officials to push ahead at the meeting of NATO defense ministers on Feb. 13.

Despite promises of tanks, besides Germany, so far only Portugal and Canada have made concrete offers to send Leopard 2 tanks. Canada promised to deliver four tanks, while Portugal didn't reveal how many it is ready to provide. Poland said it will deliver 14 Leopard 2s, but will need spare parts from Germany, which are out of production, according to Bloomberg.

Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands have talked about sending tanks but haven't made firm commitments.

Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands also promised to deliver at least 100 older Leopard 1 tanks.

Berlin's anxiety about providing tanks to Ukraine is a turnaround from its earlier reluctance to provide modern tanks for fear of escalating the conflict.