Amid increasing pressure on Germany to supply Kiev with Leopard tanks and to allow other countries to supply such armor to Ukrainian forces, Moscow wanted to send a message to Berlin.

Deliveries of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine do not portend “nothing good,” but a barely veiled threat, Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov said on Tuesday, AFP reports, citing News.ro.

Peskov: they will leave an “indelible mark”

“Such deliveries will not bring anything to relations” between Russia and Germany, but will leave an “indelible mark”, Peskov emphasized.

This official response from the Kremlin comes after Poland’s defense minister announced on Tuesday that he had asked Germany to agree to send those famous Leopard tanks to Ukraine, where Russian forces continue to claim progress on the ground.

“Germany has already received our request to accept the transfer of (type) Leopard 2 tanks,” Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Twitter, calling on Berlin to join the “coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with (type) Leopard 2 tanks.”

On Tuesday, Berlin appeared to budge a bit more on the matter, despite Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s hesitation.

New German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at a joint conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Ukraine’s allied countries, which have Leopard heavy tanks, can begin training the Ukrainian military in the use of these tanks.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said on Sunday that Berlin “does not object” to Poland supplying Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.

NATO promises to make a decision on sending tanks to Ukraine in the near future

Although an official decision at the level of the North Atlantic Alliance regarding the provision of tanks to Kyiv has not yet been made, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday expressed confidence that it is only a matter of time.

Stoltenberg was speaking in Berlin alongside Germany’s new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, who previously said his government would move quickly to tanks if a consensus was reached.

“At this crucial moment in the war, we need to provide heavier and more advanced (weapons) systems to Ukraine, and we need to do it faster,” Stoltenberg told reporters.

“That’s why I welcome our discussion today. We discussed the issue of battle tanks. Consultations between the allies will continue, and I am sure that we will have a solution soon,” added the head of NATO.

Poland, which has accused Germany of “delaying” the tanks, said on Tuesday that it had formally asked Berlin for permission to re-export Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

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