The German government has not yet confirmed the decision. The decision was preceded by days of talks between Germany and its military partners. It is not yet clear whether the Netherlands will also supply tanks. The Netherlands is said to have offered eighteen Leopard tanks leased from Germany, reports the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper. “We’ve leased them, which means we can buy them and we can donate them,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in an interview with the newspaper on Tuesday.
Poland asked Germany on Monday if it could supply German-made Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine. Finland and Portugal are also nominated to supply tanks to Ukraine.
Jammed
Ukrainian leader Volodimir Zelensky has been asking for those combat vehicles for months. He hopes to break the virtually stalemate positional warfare with the 74-ton Leopard 2 tanks. He accused Germany of obstructing the delivery of those tanks. A number of Western countries would like to deliver them quickly. On Tuesday, Poland formally asked Berlin for permission to send tanks to Ukraine.
Dutch role
The Cabinet is ready to consider supplying modern Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. “The decision hasn’t been made yet, but we certainly don’t rule it out,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Mark Rutte said when asked.
The Netherlands has no tanks, but does lease eighteen Leopard 2 tanks from Germany. On Tuesday, Rutte told international media in Brussels that this also means the Netherlands can buy those tanks and give them away if needed. If it makes sense to do it together with other countries, the cabinet is ready to consider it, according to the prime minister.