Pistorius: Germany is examining stocks of Leopard tanks for possible delivery

tank debate
Pistorius: Germany is examining stocks for a possible Leopard delivery – but no decision yet

A Bundeswehr battle tank of the type Leopard 2 A7V is on the training ground.

© Philipp Schulze / Picture Alliance

Germany wants to check its stocks of Leopard tanks for possible deliveries. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday. The decision on a delivery will be made “as soon as possible”.

The new Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has arranged for the stocks of Leopard main battle tanks to be checked for possible delivery to Ukraine. Pistorius said on Friday at the US Ramstein Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate that he had given his ministry the corresponding order “this morning”, which included various types of tanks for the armed forces and in industry. The federal government will make a decision on the Leopard “as soon as possible” in coordination with the partners, he added. “We are preparing for the worst-case scenario,” added Pistorius.

Melnyk criticizes Germany

The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, has called on the federal government to give up its resistance to Leopard deliveries to Ukraine. “We are calling on the new Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, to end this tank puppet show in Ramstein today and to start delivering German Leopards immediately,” Melnyk told the Süddeutsche Zeitung on Friday on the sidelines of the Ramstein meeting. Germany should no longer hide behind the Americans’ backs. “It is still not too late to demonstrate true leadership to unreservedly strengthen Ukraine with all available weapons from the Bundeswehr and German defense industry,” he said. Melnyk is now his country’s deputy foreign minister.

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AFP
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