The Polemic Of Tank Leopard, German Defense Minister: We Support Ukraine So As Not To Lose This War

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. (Wikimedia Commons/Olaf Kosinsky)

JAKARTA - Germany will help Ukraine win the war against Russia, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed on Tuesday, amid a polemic of sending a tank made by the country, Leopard 2 to Kyiv.

Minister Pistorius said Germany was "MITting more than any other ally except the United States" to help Ukraine.

"We support Ukraine not to lose this war, to win it against Russia," he said in an interview with broadcaster ZDF.

Asked when Berlin plans to make a decision on a German-made Leopard tank, Minister Pistorius said it was not his decision.

"This decision will be made by the chancellor," he said.

As previously reported, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country plans to ask Germany for permission to send the Leopard 2 tank to Ukraine on Monday, saying it will continue to plan to make deliveries even if it does not get a permit.

Since Leopard was created in Germany, the government in Berlin has a final decision on how and where it is used, even if other countries offer to send it themselves.

So far, Germany has not sent or allowed other countries to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Germany is wary of actions that could lead to escalation with Moscow

However, Minister Pistorius said an ally was free to start training Ukrainian troops with the Leopard tank, while Germany made the decision.

Separately, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after meeting Pistorius in Berlin, he believed the dispute would soon be resolved.

"We have no indication that President (Russia) Putin has changed his goals. He wants to control Ukraine and is planning a new attack," Stoltenberg said.

"We must provide a heavier and more advanced system so that Ukrainian troops are able to expel Russian troops. Not only to survive but to win, reclaim territory and win as a sovereign and independent country," he explained.

According to a report by ABC in the US, citing a senior Ukrainian official, 12 countries have agreed to supply Kyiv with about 100 Leopard 2 tanks, if the German government approves exports to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, German defense company Rheinmetall said it could send 139 Leopard fighting tanks to Ukraine if needed, the company told media group RND.

The manufacturer said it could deliver 29 Leopard 2A4 tanks in April or May and 22 more tanks from the same model around the end of this year or early 2024, Rheinmetall said.

They can also supply the older 88 Leopard 1 tanks, an company representative said, without providing a schedule for their potential shipments.