The issue of international partners providing tanks to Ukraine remains relevant and very sensitive. Ukraine is pressing as hard as it can politically and in a justified manner: the courage of the Ukrainian military and the motivation of the people are not enough against thousands of Russian tanks.
Ukraine needs relevant weapons: either to have a large number of artillery systems or to have a corresponding number of tanks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized at a joint briefing with European Council President Charles Michel.
According to him, many countries would like to provide tanks, but are waiting for permissions from title holders. Obviously, this refers to Germany, whose permission is needed to provide Leopard tanks.
"Poland is ready, as well as Finland, Portugal, Spain and a sufficient number of other countries that are ready to provide even a small number of tanks they have in service. And they were ready to do it earlier. We are all waiting for the consent of the country that has the rights to certain relevant licenses. This is the first thing. Secondly, you should understand that we in Ukraine personally are waiting for the support of our partners, but we also rely on our own strength. That is why we are engaged in relevant production," he said.
Zelenskyy added that he was not ready to talk about the details in order not to prepare Russia.
According to media reports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is supposedly ready to provide Ukraine with Leopard tanks, but on the condition that the United States provides Abrams tanks. The USA says that its Abrams tanks are too complicated and expensive to use.