Germany told to let Leopards off leash

• Published date: 21 January 2023

Since the UK announced last week that it would send Challenger 2 tanks, Berlin has faced increasing calls to supply Leopard 2 tanks or at least clear the way for others, such as Poland, to deliver German-made Leopards from their own stock

Germany’s new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, left open whether that would happen after meeting US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on his first day in office.

Speaking by video link on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy offered a veiled critique of major supporters such as Germany and the US that have hesitated about sending tanks.

Ukraine’s foreign and defence ministers said the promised British tanks, while welcome, were “not sufficient to achieve operational goals”.

“We guarantee that we will use these weapons responsibly and exclusively for the purposes of protecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine within internationally recognised borders,” Dmytro Kuleba and Oleksii Reznikov said, appealing to Germany and other countries that use the Leopard 2 to join an “international tank coalition”.

For months, Ukraine has sought heavier vehicles such as the Leopard and US Abrams tanks, but Western...