Germany to provide tanks to Ukraine, says minister

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Tuesday that the country will authorise delivery of tanks to Ukraine. This is being seen as a clear switch in Germany's cautious policy in Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Lambrecht told an international meeting of defence ministers at US Ramstein airbase, said AFP.

Forty countries are holding emergency talks at the airbase in southwestern Germany on bolstering the defence capabilities of Ukraine.

The meeting, held at the invitation of the United States, is "focused on doing things to generate additional capability and capacity for the Ukrainian forces", according to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

France is providing Caesar cannons with 40 kilometre range. Britain has provided Starstreak anti-air missiles and tanks.

The Gepard tanks will not come from the German army but from stocks held by the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) arms group, government sources told AFP.

They were taken out of service 10 years ago and need to be technically upgraded, the sources said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has come under fire for refusing to directly send heavy weapons to Ukraine, despite announcing a "turning point" in German defence policy in response to the war.

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Critics have accused Scholz of weak leadership and say his Social Democrats (SPD) are too reluctant to break from their historic policy of detente towards Moscow.

Scholz has even faced criticism from within his own coalition government, a partnership between the SPD, the Greens and the liberal FDP.

(With inputs from agencies)