Poland officially requests Germany to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, will ask compensation from EU

Poland has officially sought permission from Germany to transfer its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, said Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak on Tuesday (January 24). This comes as Berlin is facing mounting pressure from European allies to send tanks to Kyiv amid its ongoing conflict with Russia. However, Warsaw has recently cranked up the pressure on Berlin to give its approval. The announcement comes a day after thePolish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said Warsaw will ask Germany for permission to re-export Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

“The Germans have already received our request for consent to the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. I also appeal to the German side to join the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks. This is our common cause, because it is about the security of the whole of Europe!”, said thePolish defence minister on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the Polish Prime Minister,Mateusz Morawiecki, said that the country will ask the European Union to compensate for the cost of the Leopard 2 tanks. "We will apply for reimbursement to the European Union, it will be another test of good will," said the PM while addressing a press conference, as per Reuters.

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He added, "I hope that this answer from Germany will come quickly because the Germans are delaying, dodging, acting in a way that is difficult to understand."

However, Germany is yet to confirm if they have received such a request from Warsaw. Berlin whoseapproval is required for the re-export of Leopard tankshas been reluctant as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government believetheir response can be viewed as an escalation or provocation by Russia.

Previously, Scholz said that sending tanks to Ukraine, which Kyiv has long sought, would have to be coordinated with the entire Western alliance, including the United States.

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The request also comes after the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, on Sunday, said that their government “if we were asked we would not stand in the way,” referring to the request for the Munich-based defence company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann manufactured Leopard 2 tanks.

While there are at least 2,000 such tanks acrossseveral European countries,since they are German-made it would require the authorisation of the country of origin.So far, Ukraine’s allies like Poland and the Czech Republic have only been willing to send the country Soviet-era T-72 tanks.

(With inputs from agencies)

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