Say you're at war without saying you’re at war.
“Britain will provide Ukraine with main battle tanks, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters. The statement came after Poland said it would transfer German-made tanks to Kiev’s forces, with Berlin’s permission.
The spokesman said Sunak had asked Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to “work with partners” to go “further and faster with our support for Ukraine including the provision of tanks.”
A formal announcement will likely be made in conjunction with several of Britain’s NATO allies, as was the case when the US, France and Germany all announced together that they would send infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.
Poland announced that it would supply Kiev with a number of German-made Leopard tanks, a decision that requires a green light from Berlin.
While the German government officially has no plans to donate any of its own Leopards, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday that he would not rule out such a step. Meanwhile, Kiev is confident that Germany’s apparent caution is illusory.
“Germany will do it anyway at a later date,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Tagesschau news channel on Wednesday. “We have already seen this with the self-propelled howitzers, with the IRIS-T anti-aircraft system and most recently with the Marder and Patriot systems.”
According to Sky, an official announcement may be made by multiple countries on January 20, when the US-led ‘Contact Group’ for arming Ukraine is scheduled to meet next.
Warsaw intends to hand German-made tanks over to Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a visit to the country.
“A company of Leopard tanks will be transferred as part of coalition building. We want it to be an international company and we decided to put the first package in the form of tanks,” Duda told reporters in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
Duda’s comments come just days after Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw was “considering” a handover of several Leopard 2 tanks to its southern neighbor. Morawiecki also said it would have to be a part of an effort by a “broader coalition of states” and that talks with Germany were “ongoing,” according to the outlet Rzeczpospolita.
While Czechia was the first NATO member to send tanks to Ukraine – turning over several T-72s in April 2022 – Poland has given Kiev the most armour. Duda said on Wednesday that 240 Polish T-72s had been delivered as part of “spectacular assistance” to Ukraine. Ukraine has repeatedly demanded western-made tanks.
So far, Berlin has agreed to give Kiev 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles and a US-made Patriot air defence battery, already an escalation from its previous deliveries.
Ukraine has sought a symbolic delivery of Leopards to open the gates for the eventual delivery of US tanks, Defence Minister Aleksey Reznikov told the US outlet Politico in October. Last week, Reznikov told Ukrainian TV that his country is “carrying out NATO’s mission” by shedding blood, so it is the West’s responsibility to provide the weapons.
The US and its allies provided almost $100 billion worth of weapons, equipment and ammunition to Ukraine in 2022, according to Russian Defence Ministry estimates. Moscow has repeatedly warned the West that its military aid to Kiev only prolongs the conflict and risks a direct confrontation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov that the US and NATO are “definitely” taking part in the conflict, “although indirectly, by proxy.””
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Dave C.
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