Poland to ask Germany for approval to send tanks to Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to soldiers in front of a Leopard 2 main battle tank after the Army’s training and instruction exercise in Ostenholz, Germany (dpa via AP)

Poland will ask Germany for permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said.

Mr Morawiecki did not specify when the request will be made, saying that Poland is building a coalition of nations ready to send Leopards.

Even if there is no permission from Germany, Warsaw will take its own decisions, he said, without elaborating.

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock told French TV channel LCI on Sunday that Poland has not formally asked for Berlin’s approval to share some of its German-made Leopards, but added “if we were asked, we would not stand in the way”.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (AP)

Regarding Ms Baerbock’s comments, Mr Morawiecki said that “exerting pressure makes sense” and that her words are a “spark of hope” that Germany may even take part in the coalition.

In a news conference in the western city of Poznan, Mr Morawiecki said Ms Baerbock “sent a different message that offers a spark of hope that not only Germany will no longer block, but maybe finally will offer heavy, modern equipment in support of Ukraine”.

He added: “We are constantly exerting pressure on the government in Berlin to make its Leopards available.”

According to Mr Morawiecki, Germany has “more than 350 active Leopards and about 200 in storage”.

The Ukrainian government says that tanks, and especially the German-made Leopards, are vital if it is to prevail over the Kremlin’s invading forces.

Ms Baerbock made positive comments about the possibility of sending tanks to Ukraine.

A Leopard 2 tank (AP)

German officials “know how important these tanks are” and “this is why we are discussing this now with our partners,” Ms Baerbock said in interview clips posted by LCI.

Ukraine’s supporters pledged billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine during a meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday.

International defence leaders discussed Ukraine’s urgent request for the Leopard 2 tanks, and the failure to work out an agreement overshadowed the new commitments.

Germany is one of the main donors of weapons to Ukraine, and it ordered a review of its Leopard 2 stocks in preparation for a possible green light.

Nonetheless, the government in Berlin has shown caution at each step of increasing its military aid to Ukraine, a hesitancy seen as rooted in its history and political culture.

Germany’s tentativeness has drawn criticism, particularly from Poland and the Baltic states, countries on Nato’s eastern flank that feel especially threatened by Russia’s renewed aggression.

A boy with toy rifle looks at a tank as part of an exhibition in Kirovsk, about, east of St Petersburg (AP)

Moscow, in response to the pledges of sophisticated Western weapons for Kyiv’s military, has stepped up its warnings that escalation risks catastrophe.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov reaffirmed Moscow’s claim that the Western supplies could lead to “unpredictable” consequences.

“We have said on numerous occasions that escalation is the most dangerous path, and the consequences may be unpredictable,” Mr Ryabkov said.

“Our signals are not listened to, and Russia’s adversaries keep raising the stakes.”

With both sides’ battlefield positions mostly deadlocked during the winter months, the Kremlin’s forces have kept up their bombardments of Ukrainian areas.

Kharkiv governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Monday that Russian forces shelled several towns and villages in the north-eastern region over the previous 24 hours, killing a 67-year-old woman and leaving another resident wounded.