Sweden will send infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine as part of its biggest military support to Kyiv
Poland will either get permission to transfer German-made tanks to Ukraine “or we will do the right thing ourselves,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday.
Any transfer of the Leopard 2 main battle tanks usually requires permission from Berlin as they are done in Germany.
Asked about the delay in Germany authorizing the transfer, Morawiecki said Poland had offered Ukraine 14 tanks.
“At the same time, we must ensure that others will also meet these needs. Among these others, the ones who have been the least proactive so far are the Germans,” he said during a video interview on his way back from the International Economic Forum in Davos.
“We will continue to strive, we will continue to press the chancellor’s office and Germany to respond to our proposal as soon as possible.”
New Defense Minister: Morawiecki was also asked if he expected a change after Boris Pistorius, who has called for sanctions relief against Russia, took over as Germany’s defense minister.
“This worries me a lot. I don’t know much about Germany’s new defense minister. What I do know gives me some anxiety,” says Morawiecki.
But Pistorius should be given “a few days” to see “what his first steps will be”, Morawiecki added.
We agreed that we would hand over the thoughts together,” he said. “Consent is secondary. Either we will get this consent, or we will do the right thing ourselves.”
“The most important thing is that the Germans, Danes, Finns, French and other nations offer their modern tanks and heavy equipment as soon as possible,” Morawiecki said. “The ability to defend the freedom of Ukraine and thus the security of Ukraine. all of Europe, may depend on it.”
“Encourage and inspire others”: Poland has already sent 250 tanks to Ukraine, Morawiecki told CNN’s Richard Quest on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum.
“We were the first to offer the Leopard tanks and we are now encouraging and inspiring others, especially the Germans, to do their part,” he said.
“Now the Leopard tanks are the next round of our support to Ukraine. A crucially important point is, will the Germans finally, finally provide their share of heavy artillery, especially heavy and modern tanks,” Morawiecki said.
“And this is the big question, because 14 tanks on top of 250 is not the game changer, but if France and especially Germany and some other countries gave 20-30 tanks each, then it could make a difference for Ukraine.” he added.
A little context: There is growing pressure on Western allies to supply Ukraine with heavy tanks.
France, Poland and Britain has promised to soon send tanks for the Ukrainian military to use in its efforts to protect itself from Russia. Finland considering following suit.
Germany has said it will transfer infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv but has not yet committed to sending tanks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that such a plan would need to be fully coordinated with the entire Western alliance, including the United States.
The Western allies will meet tomorrow at the US airbase Ramstein in Germany to discuss further military aid to Kyiv.