Western allies, at a meeting at the United States Ramstein air base in Germany, failed to reach a decision on supplying powerful battle tanks to Ukraine on Friday.
Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said after the Ukraine Contact Group meeting, “Ukraine is not dependent on a single platform.” Austin, who hosted the meeting, said allies gave pledges for large amounts of other weapons.
“What we’re really focused on is making sure that Ukraine has the capability that it needs to be successful right now,” Austin said.
Germany has been at the center of the tank debate.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has said it wants German-made Leopard and US M1 Abrams tanks.
The country’s new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said Berlin would “balance all the pros and cons before we decide things like that… I am very sure that there will be a decision in the short term, but I don’t know how the decision will look.”
Berlin has yet to give the go-ahead to Leopard-owning allies like Poland or Finland, who desire to send them to Ukraine.
Ukraine to continue push for modern tanks
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would continue to push for modern heavy armor. “Every day, we make it more obvious that there is no alternative to taking a decision about tanks,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening video address.
Ukraine’s allies did not decide whether German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks or US M1 Abrams tanks should be sent to Kyiv. Zelenskyy said the outcome of the Ramstein meeting would strengthen Ukraine’s resilience.
“Yes, we will still have to fight for the delivery of modern tanks,” he said. Ukraine says it will eventually receive what it needs Ukraine says that while it may wait to get the German-made Leopard 2 tanks it wants, it believes they will be delivered in the future.
“We are getting stronger,” Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “And everything that we haven’t received yet, we will receive,” he added.
The meeting of the Ukrainian contact group at Ramstein air base did result in a broad consensus that more military aid needs to be sent to Ukraine. It, however, took no decision on the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Germany remains ‘reliable ally’
Germany is a “reliable ally and has been for a very long time,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters when pressed on Berlin’s role. “I truly believe that they’ll continue to be a reliable ally going forward,” he added.
He noted that Germany hosted “39,000 of my troops,” as well as civilian dependents. Austin said Germany was essential in helping to train Ukrainian soldiers.
“Germany continues to open the doors and make the training areas facilities available for us to continue to work that we need to do, and, Germany is also training troops…they have a big oar in the water.”
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said that Germany was one of the allies providing the most support to Ukraine. “Artillery, ammunition, air defense systems and now also Marder infantry fighting vehicles: Germany is really leading the way in supporting Ukraine in many, many areas,” he said.
US announces military aid for Ukraine
The US defence secretary, who hosted the meeting, said the focus of the meeting was to “provide the capability that Ukraine needs to be successful in the near term.”
He added that this meant not focusing on a “single platform,” and listed a whole list of military aid that allies announced they were going to provide to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military has requested hundreds of American-made M1 Abrams and German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks, but Austin said, “I don’t have any announcements to make on M1 tanks.”
Earlier, Germany’s new Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, said that while there was no resolution yet, “we will make our decisions as soon as possible.”
He said he had ordered the ministry to look into the tank stocks Germany has so he can be prepared for a possible green light and be able to “act immediately.”
Despite requests from Ukraine, Germany has yet to agree to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv or allow other countries, such as Poland, to provide the German-made tanks from their own supplies.
He added that this meant not focusing on a “single platform,” and listed a whole list of military aid that allies announced they were going to provide to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military has requested hundreds of American-made M1 Abrams and German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks, but Austin said, “I don’t have any announcements to make on M1 tanks.”
Earlier, Germany’s new Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, said that while there was no resolution yet, “we will make our decisions as soon as possible.”
He said he had ordered the ministry to look into the tank stocks Germany has so he can be prepared for a possible green light and be able to “act immediately.”
Despite requests from Ukraine, Germany has yet to agree to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv or allow other countries, such as Poland, to provide the German-made tanks from their own supplies.
New military aid for Ukraine
Several countries pledged new military aid even before the meeting started on Friday.
On Friday, Finland announced a €400 million ($433 million) military aid package, its largest to date, including heavy artillery and munitions.
It comes after the US released a list of $2.5 billion worth of supplies, including Bradley fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, air defence systems, and tens of thousands of rockets and artillery rounds.
Britain announced it would send 600 Brimstone missiles, Denmark said it would donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzers, and Sweden promised its Archer artillery system.
Poland could send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine even without Germany’s re-export approval, a Polish deputy foreign minister said.