Poland can transfer German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine without permission from Berlin, PM says
Polish servicemen drive a Leopard tank during a live-fire demonstration as part of the Bear 22 military exercises at the Nowa Deba training range on September 21, in Nowa Deba, Poland. (Photo: Omar Marques/Getty Images)
Poland will receive permission to transfer German-made tanks to Ukraine “or we will do the right thing ourselves,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Thursday.
Any transfer of Leopard 2 main battle tanks would normally require permission from Berlin, as they are made in Germany.
Asked regarding Germany’s delay in granting permission for the transfer, Morawiecki said Poland had offered Ukraine 14 main battle tanks.
“At the same time, we must make sure that others also meet these needs. Among these others, the ones who have been least proactive so far are the Germans,” he said during a video interview following returning from the Davos International Economic Forum.
“We will continue our efforts, we will continue to pressure the Foreign Ministry and Germany to respond to our proposal as soon as possible.”
Morawiecki was also asked if he expected a change following Boris Pistorius, who has called for sanctions once morest Russia to be eased, took over as German defense minister.
“This worries me a lot. I don’t know much regarding Germany’s new defense minister. What I do know causes me some concern,” Morawiecki said.
But Pistorius must be given “a few days of time” to see “what his first steps will be,” added Morawiecki.
“We agreed that we would deliver the tanks together,” he said. “Consent is secondary. Either we get that consent, or we will do the right thing ourselves.”
“The most important thing is that the Germans, the Danes, the Finns, the French and other nations offer their modern tanks and heavy equipment as soon as possible,” Morawiecki said. “The ability to defend freedom in Ukraine, and therefore the security of the whole of Europe, may depend on it.”
Poland has already sent 250 tanks to Ukraine, Morawiecki told CNN’s Richard Quest on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum on Wednesday.
“We were the first to offer Leopard tanks and now we are encouraging and inspiring others, particularly the Germans, to do their part,” he said.
“Now the Leopard tanks are the next round of our support for Ukraine. The most important thing is whether the Germans will finally bring their share of heavy artillery, particularly heavy and modern tanks,” Morawiecki said.
“And this is the main thing, because 14 out of 250 tanks is not a game changer, but if France and in particular Germany and a few other countries contributed between 20 and 30 tanks each, then yes it might make a difference. for Ukraine,” he added.
Some context: Pressure is mounting for the Western allies to provide Ukraine with heavy main battle tanks.
France, Poland and the UK have pledged to soon send main battle tanks for the Ukrainian military to use in its efforts to ward off Russia. Finland is considering following suit.
Germany has said it will transfer infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv, but has not yet committed to sending main battle tanks. Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz has insisted that any such plan would have to be fully coordinated with all the Western allies.
