Not so long ago, it was clear that Germany was the main brake on the West sending Ukraine the battle tanks it needs for the next stage of its resistance to Russia’s invasion. As I wrote on 20 January after the failure to establish a “tank coalition” at a summit of defence minsters at the Ramstein Air Base, “Germany has become the roadblock at the heart of Europe”. There was justice in this accusation. Kyiv needed Leopard 2 tanks (present in large numbers in European militaries, well-suited to battle conditions in Ukraine and relatively easy to supply and repair). The Leopards are a German make of tank. Berlin controls their export. Here, finally, was a chance for it to live up to its talk of special responsibility for European stability and international rule of law. Government sources from various other European countries shared this criticism of a Germany all too reluctant to lead.
It is only fair to acknowledge that Berlin has stepped up since then. The week after Ramstein, it committed to sending Ukraine 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks (a more modern model than expected) and approve the export of Leopard 2s to Ukraine by other states. On 18 February at the Munich Security Conference the country’s impressive new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, uttered welcome words that had long eluded Germany’s cautious leaders: “Ukraine must win this war.” On 24 February, the first anniversary of the invasion, Germany increased its commitment from 14 to 18 tanks to be sent by the end of this month. Ukrainian officials are delighted. On 3 March Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, spoke approvingly of the country’s new leading role: “What has changed in the last few months is we are not just discussing the current order of the day, but we are strategically planning according to what is needed and what can be delivered.”
Content from our partners
