Polish PM Morawiecki Hints to Send Leopard Tanks to Ukraine Without German Approval

Polish Leopard 2 Tank. (Wikimedia Commons/CO MON/Leszek Chempek)

JAKARTA - Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has signaled he could send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as part of a broader coalition even without a German re-export agreement, increasing pressure on Berlin ahead of an allied crisis meeting about more military aid to Kyiv.

Warsaw and other NATO allies have been pressing Germany to give them the green light to send German-made tanks to Ukraine amid growing demands from Kyiv for heavy weaponry which he says is essential to turning the tide against a Russian invasion.

On Friday, Germany and the United States will gather dozens of allies at the US Ramstein Air Base, a meeting seen as an opportunity to provide weapons to change the momentum of the war by 2023.

"Consent is of secondary interest here, we will get this approval quickly, or we will do what is necessary ourselves," PM Morawiecki told private broadcaster Polsat News late Wednesday, citing Reuters, January 19.

A government spokesman was not immediately available to comment on whether Morawiecki's intent was that Poland or the entire group of countries could send the tanks without Germany's approval.

Poland has repeatedly signaled it would only send tanks as part of a larger coalition.

"The most important thing is for Germany, but not only Germany..., to offer their modern tanks, their modern heavy weapons, because Ukraine's ability to maintain its independence may depend on that," PM Morawiecki said.

Germany has been reluctant to send in heavy offensive weapons in what could be seen as an escalation of the Ukraine conflict, so far withholding re-export agreements from its allies to provide the Leopard 2 tanks, which are now the mainstay of allied armies across Europe.

A German government source said Berlin would drop its objections if the United States sent its own Abrams battle tanks to Kyiv.

However, Washington and many Western allies say the Leopards - which Germany made in their thousands during the Cold War and exported to its allies - are the only suitable option available in sizeable numbers.

Previously, Poland and Finland had said they would provide the Leopards if Germany withdrew its veto as part of a broader coalition, and other countries have indicated they are prepared to do so as well.

Britain added to the pressure on Germany by breaking a taboo on heavy tank deliveries last week, offering Kyiv a squadron of its Challenger tanks, though far fewer of them were available than the Leopards.