European leaders urge Berlin to agree tanks for Ukraine
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[January 20, 2023]
By Idrees Ali and Tom Balmforth
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany/KYIV (Reuters) -European leaders urged Berlin
to give the green light on Friday for the delivery of German-made tanks
to Ukraine to fend off Moscow's invasion and both Washington and Kyiv
said time was of the essence.
The defence ministers' talks at Ramstein Air Base in Germany follow
Ukrainian warnings that Russia is seeking to reenergise its almost
11-month-old invasion after unilaterally annexing parts of Ukraine's
east and south it does not fully control.
The United States and Finland announced new military aid ahead of the
gathering, where the main focus was on whether Germany will allow the
re-export to Ukraine of its Leopard 2 tanks used by armies across
Europe.
Europe's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, told reporters in Madrid that some
European countries were ready to send heavy tanks and that he hoped the
decision to do so would be taken.
Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskiy, speaking at the start of the
meeting, thanked allies for their support, but said more was needed and
more quickly.
"We have to speed up. Time must become our weapon "The Kremlin must
lose," said Zelenskiy, adding to earlier comments implying the Germany
was holding other countries back from sending their tanks.
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Russia was regrouping, recruiting, and trying to re-equip, U.S. Defense
Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the meeting.
"This is not a moment to slow down. It's a time to dig deeper. The
Ukrainian people are watching us," he said, without making specific
reference to tanks.
Berlin has veto power over any decision to export the tanks from
countries that use them and Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government has
appeared reluctant to authorise that for fear of provoking Russia.
Some allies, along with Ukraine, say Germany's concern is misplaced with
Russia already fully committed to war.
Lithuania, which fears for its own future if Russia overruns Ukraine,
said several countries would announce sending the Leopard tanks at the
meeting.
"Some of the countries will definitely send Leopard tanks to Ukraine,
that is for sure," Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas told Reuters on
Thursday about the Ramstein pledges, after 11 nations met in Estonia and
pledged new military aid.
Finland pledged more than 400 million euros ($434 million) worth of
extra defence equipment for Ukraine and has indicated it could add
Leopard tanks if there is an agreement with allies.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he was "moderately
pessimistic" Berlin would give the green light. His government has
suggested Poland may go ahead anyway.
The German government said on Friday it had no information on an
official request to Germany from any country for permission to re-export
German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
The Kremlin said that supplying tanks to Ukraine would not help, saying
the West would regret its "delusion" that Kyiv could win on the
battlefield.
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![](../images/012023PIX/news_q14.jpg)
A Ukrainian tank is seen amid Russia's
attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 19,
2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak
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U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE
Kyiv and Moscow have relied mainly on Soviet-era T-72 tanks in
warfare long thought outmoded; hundreds have been destroyed in what
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls a "special military
operation" to protect Russia and Russian speakers.
Ukraine and its allies say Russia faces no threat and is just trying
to grab territory.
The United States on Thursday announced new military aid for Ukraine
valued at up to $2.5 billion, including hundreds of armoured
vehicles and support for air defences.
The aid includes 59 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 90 Stryker Armored
Personnel Carriers, the U.S. Defense Department said, making a total
of more than $27.4 billion in U.S. security aid.
A government source in Germany has said it would move on the Leopard
tanks issue if the United States agreed to send Abrams tanks, which
were not included in Thursday's U.S. announcement.
However, Berlin said on Friday the two issues were not linked.
CIA DIRECTOR VISIT
Ukraine's allies have not sent Kyiv their most potent weaponry to
avoid NATO appearing to confront Russia directly. Kyiv has
repeatedly said it has no plans to attack Russia, only defend
itself.
"Ukrainians will fight! With tanks or without. But every tank from
Ramstein means saved Ukrainian lives," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna
Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.
CIA Director William Burns travelled in secret to Ukraine's capital
Kyiv to meet Zelenskiy, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday,
declining to say when the visit took place.
The Washington Post, which first reported the visit, said it was at
the end of last week and that Burns briefed Zelenskiy on his
expectations on Russia's military plans.
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Fighting has been most intense in Ukraine's industrialised eastern
Donbas region, which Russia claimed to have annexed in September
along with two regions in the south. The Ukrainian military said on
Thursday evening that Russian forces shelled the Donbas town of
Bakhmut.
On Friday, Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had taken
control of Klishchiivka, a small settlement around six miles (9 km)
south of Bakhmut, a day after Russia's Wagner mercenary group made
the same claim.
Ukrainian military analyst and reserve Colonel Roman Svitun refuted
that claim on Thursday evening.
"Russian forces are trying to seize a road going through there but
have been stopped in Klishchhivka," he told Espreso TV.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield claims.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Grant McCool and Philippa
Fletcher; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Frank Jack Daniel)
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