Die is cast. After weeks of mounting pressure from his allies in NATO and from his partners in the tripartite coalition of Germany, Olaf Soltz he overruled his objections and agreed to be sent by his government Leopard tanks in Ukraine. At the same time, he gave the green light to countries that already have Leopard to export to Kyiv. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky expressed “sincere thanks” to Germany for this development.

“Germany will always be at the forefront of supporting Ukraine, because in Europe, not far from Berlin, there really is a war going on,” the German chancellor said from the parliament hall to applause from all sides. However, he was quick to add: “At the same time, we must prevent the war from escalating into an open conflict between Russia and NATO.”

Olaf Soltz’s line change is overdue, according to the French Le Monde, after his telephone conversation with Joe Biden January 17. The German chancellor made it a condition of the Leopard mission that the Americans also send their own Abrams tanks so that his country would not look like it was leading a campaign against Russia. Prior to this, the Biden administration had been reluctant to send them, citing logistical problems, but was retreating to overcome German reluctance. Last night the US President announced Mission 31 Abrams in the context of ongoing military assistance to Ukraine. “This assistance is not an aggressive threat to Russia,” the US President said. “The goal is for Ukraine to protect its territorial property. We all want this war to end,” he added.

Moscow speaks of a pre-planned war by the West against Russia and warns that “tanks are on fire.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Berlin intends to immediately send a Leopard (14 tanks) to Ukraine. Poland has already announced that it will send the same number of Leopards, and the British decided to send 14 Challenger tanks of their own construction. All three countries intend to begin training Ukrainian soldiers in the handling of armored vehicles in the near future. Their use on the battlefield will become possible within three to four months, according to estimates by the German Ministry of Defense.

The German Leopards are the most common tanks in the European NATO countries, so they are the best ones to send them in sufficient numbers to Ukraine. In addition to the countries already mentioned, several more are ready to follow. Spain is “open” to that possibility, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said yesterday, while Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said his government is ready to hand over the Leopard to the Ukrainians. The participation of Finland, albeit with a limited number of tanks, in the alliance of countries that will support Ukraine with tanks, was announced by Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola.

Claims about the delivery of heavy offensive weapons to Kyiv, although expected, have provoked a sharp reaction from Russia in recent days. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the tanks sent to Ukraine would “burn out” and expressed concern that “the clock of the apocalypse is closer than ever to midnight”, i.e. the possibility of nuclear war. At the same time, the statement of the Russian Embassy in Germany says that the decision of the Scholz government “signals the final refusal of the FRG to recognize its historical responsibility to our people for the terrible, eternal crimes of Nazism” and noted that “with the approval of the German leadership, tanks with German crosses will again be sent to the Eastern Front.

The French also dance

Until recently, Emmanuel Macron declared that “Russia must not be humiliated” and that Paris is seeking a just peace with “security guarantees” for Moscow. Recently, however, pressure not only from the United States, but also from within the EU, seems to have become very strong on the French president. Asked if France could send its own made Leclerc tanks to Ukraine, a senior French government official said his country “has no taboo” on the issue and will make decisions no matter what Washington and Berlin do. However, the French presidency welcomed Germany’s decision on the Leopards. At the same time, 600 French soldiers were taking part in a NATO exercise in Romania to reinforce the Alliance’s eastern flank. French Leclerc tanks also participate in the live fire exercise.