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BERLIN, Jan. 19 (AP) – Germany is under increasing pressure to supply Kyiv with main battle tanks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed frustration at not getting enough weapons as Western allies Russia’s nearly 11-month-long incursion into Ukraine was on Thursday over how best to support it.
Germany’s new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, welcomed US defense secretary Lloyd Austin to Berlin just hours after taking office.
He declared that the German weapons systems delivered so far have proved their worth, “We will continue to support Ukraine’s struggle for freedom, territorial independence and sovereignty with our partners in the future.”
However, he made no immediate mention of the Leopard 2 tank, long sought by Ukraine. Since the UK announced last week that it would send Challenger 2 tanks, pressure has grown on Berlin to supply main battle tanks, or at least deliver German-built Panther tanks from their own stockpiles for other countries such as Poland Clear the way.
Austin will host a regular coordination meeting of senior defense officials from Ukraine’s Western allies at the U.S. Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany on Friday.
“We will reaffirm our mutual commitment to support Ukraine’s long-term self-defense,” he said, without mentioning any specific new equipment.
Zelensky made a veiled criticism of key supporters, such as Germany and the United States, who remain hesitant to send the tanks, during a breakfast via video link on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
He lamented the “lack of specific weapons” and said that to win the war, “we can’t do it with motivation and morale alone.”
“There are times when we shouldn’t hesitate, or we shouldn’t compare when someone says, if someone else is willing to share his tank, I’ll provide the tank,” he told a Viktor Pinchuk Foundation breakfast through an interpreter.
Ukraine has been seeking for months to acquire heavier vehicles such as the German-made Leopard 2 and the American Abrams tank, but Western leaders have been treading carefully.
Germany in particular has been in the spotlight in recent days. Critics, including some within Germany’s ruling coalition, have long complained that Chancellor Olaf Schulz is hesitant to take the next step over the arms deliveries.
Schulz has been wary of such pressure, insisting that Germany will not go it alone and pointing to the need to ensure that NATO does not become a party to war with Russia, although Berlin has ultimately made progress so far. He describes his careful weighing of each step as a virtue.
In Davos on Wednesday, Scholz avoided directly answering questions about the Leopard, saying Germany would remain one of Ukraine’s largest arms suppliers and that “we will never do something on our own, but with other countries.” — especially the United States” to do things together.
German officials expressed their hesitation about allowing allies to supply German-made Leopard tanks unless the U.S. also supplies Abrams tanks to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The upcoming new U.S. military aid package is expected to include nearly 100 Stryker combat vehicles and at least 50 Bradley armored vehicles — but not Abrams tanks, U.S. officials say. Grams have complex maintenance needs and may not be the best fit.
Austin said on Twitter that he also planned to meet Wolfgang Schmidt, Scholz’s chief of staff, in Berlin.
“I think it’s no longer about avoiding going it alone, it’s about avoiding going it alone,” Wolfgang Ischinger, the former German ambassador to the United States, said on Deutschlandfunk radio about the demand for Germany to deliver the tanks.
Some NATO eastern allies have provided Soviet-era T-72 tanks to the Ukrainian military, but officials acknowledged that supplies of Soviet-era equipment already familiar to the Ukrainian military are limited.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine’s Western backers will discuss how to deliver heavier, more advanced weapons this week.
“The main message will be: more support, more advanced support, heavier weapons and more modern weapons,” Stoltenberg said of Friday’s meeting.
The defense ministers of Britain, Poland and the Baltic states will meet in Estonia on Thursday afternoon.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christensen said on Thursday his country had decided to send up to 50 Swedish-made combat vehicles to Ukraine along with an anti-tank robot and archer artillery system.
Estonia has announced what it says is its largest military aid package to date, including howitzers, ammunition, artillery support equipment and grenade launchers. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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