Experts say that Germany does not want to make a decision on the supply of Leopard 2 to Kyiv

Moscow, January 14 – Ukraine needs new tanks, first we are talking about the German Leopard 2, Kyiv’s needs are estimated at hundreds of armored vehicles, but Germany, despite the pressure it is exerting, does not want to be a “pilot” in deliveries, the interviewed experts told the News Agency.

“A lot was lost between August and December last year. This was especially true of tanks. These (Western) forces to supply equipment, but the question is, what kind of equipment? The composition of the weapons suggests that no one has modern weapons for Ukraine, if Ukraine can Earlier than improving the weapons supplied, for example, Soviet weapons, now the defense complex of Ukraine does not allow for improvement, ”said Vladimir Yevseev, head of the Department of Eurasian Integration and Development at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Institute of the CIS Countries, military expert Vladimir Evseev.

According to the expert, the lack of weapons will lead to the fact that the Ukrainian military units “will cease to be mechanized, will become infantry.” “At the moment, deliveries are taking place, but” not in the quantities that Ukraine needs, because Ukraine needs hundreds of armored vehicles. The value of deliveries should not be underestimated, but this is not at all what Ukraine was counting on.

And the expert believes: “Actually, we need to talk about replacing Soviet weapons with Western weapons, but we are talking about completely different volumes of weapons. The West will not agree to such supplies.”

Nikolai Toburnin, assistant professor of European law at the MGIMO Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, explained that Kyiv is focusing on supplying Leopard tanks, because “these tanks can significantly increase the combat capability” of the Ukrainian army and change the nature of hostilities.

The expert noted that Europe, in general, is unanimous that the supply of military equipment should continue, but there are nuances on the subject of the “tank”. According to Tobornin, some countries, especially those close to Ukraine that actively support it, “offer the Germans to become ‘pioneers’ on this idea”.

“There are exports and restrictions on the supply of these tanks outside the European Union and NATO. The fact is that the Germans are the manufacturers of these tanks, respectively, and they have all the documents, and they also have patents. That is, this is it and only they can give permission or prohibit the transfer Tanks to a third party, and so everyone is waiting for the Germans’ decision, ”Tubornin believes.

The expert pointed out that Berlin has shown in recent days a clear unwillingness to take a single decision regarding the start of delivering shipments of panthers, as the German government believes that this issue “should not be a German decision only, but rather it should be a decision of a group of countries or within the European Union.” And NATO said that all countries participating in the assembly would be ready to support the decision to transfer tanks.

The expert added that Germany is asking a “fair question” about the position of the United States. “The Americans have an Abrams tank that is no less modern, and America can also be involved in supplying and supplying it for its part, because the Americans are the copyright holders. Until now, we know that the Pentagon has not talked about such an initiative that they are ready to supply the Abrams to the Ukrainian army, “- he said. Tobornin.

On Wednesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced, while in Lviv, that his country would transport a company of Leopard tanks. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Thursday that his country is ready to consider participating in the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, but their number will be small.

In order to supply German-made tanks to Ukraine, countries need to obtain German permission to lift export restrictions. In addition to Germany, Poland and Finland, Spain, Greece and Denmark have Leopard tanks, Finnish media determined.