Duda President Calls Poland Will Send Leopard Tanks To Ukraine

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausmenda, President of Volodymyr Zelensky, President Andrzej Duda. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Poland has decided to send the Leopard tank to Ukraine as part of the international coalition, the country's leader said on Wednesday, as Warsaw seeks to play a major role in achieving consensus among Western allies on the support.

Kyiv is known to have requested heavy military vehicles such as the German-made Leopard 2, which will represent a significant increase in Western support for Ukraine.

"A Leopard tank company will be handed over as part of the coalition's construction," President Andrzej Duda said during a visit to Lviv City, western Ukraine.

"We want it to be an international coalition," he continued. A company usually consists of 14 tanks.

President Duda said he hoped the Polish tanks, along with tanks from other countries, would soon travel to Ukraine.

Speaking with Duda President and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausmenda, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said a joint decision was needed, as one country would not be able to provide Kyiv with sufficient tank counts.

Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday Poland had no intention of sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine without the formation of a broader coalition.

Meanwhile, every Leopard re-export tank requires approval from the government in Berlin.

Separately, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday he remained confident of the need to coordinate arms shipments to Ukraine with allies.

However, a German government spokesman said on Wednesday it was not aware of any requests from its allies to send the Leopard war tank to Ukraine.