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Germany announced on Wednesday that it will supply the Leopard 2 battle tanks long sought by Kyiv and will approve requests by other countries to do the same. Berlin’s announcement came shortly after Kyiv admitted that its troops have withdrawn from the town of Soledar, a key position on the eastern front. Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
The French presidency on Wednesday welcomed Berlin’s decision to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine and allow other states to do the same in support of the country’s fight against Russia. “France welcomes the German decision, which extends and amplifies the support we have provided with the delivery of the AMX10 RC”, the Elysee said in a statement, referring to a France-made lighter combat vehicle which Paris is also aiming to send to Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Wednesday thanked Germany for approving the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and providing a company of them from Berlin’s own stocks.
Thank you @Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz. The decision to send Leopards to Ukraine is a big step towards stopping Russia. Together we are stronger.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday that Germany and other NATO allies’ decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine was the “right decision”. “The right decision by NATO Allies and friends to send main battle tanks to Ukraine. Alongside Challenger 2s, they will strengthen Ukraine’s defensive firepower,” Sunak said on Twitter.
The right decision by NATO Allies and friends to send main battle tanks to Ukraine. Alongside Challenger 2s, they will strengthen Ukraine’s defensive firepower.
Together, we are accelerating our efforts to ensure Ukraine wins this war and secures a lasting peace. https://t.co/55BKg7orfJ
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Wednesday that the country will supply its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, overcoming misgivings about sending heavy weaponry that Kyiv sees as crucial to defeat the Russian invasion but Moscow cast as needless provocation.
Berlin will provide a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from the Bundeswehr stocks and is also granting approval for other European countries to send tanks from their own stocks to Ukraine, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement. “The aim is to quickly assemble two tank battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine,” he said.
Pressure had been building for weeks on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government to send the tanks and allow other NATO allies to do so as well ahead of expected spring offensives by both sides that could help turn the tide of the war.
Scholz’s government had stalled on the decision, wary of moves that could prompt Russia to escalate or suck the NATO alliance into becoming a party to the conflict. Germany’s decision paves the way for other countries such as Poland, Spain and Norway to supply their stocks of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian army admitted on Wednesday that its troops have withdrawn from the eastern town of Soledar, leaving it to pro-Russian forces, two weeks after Moscow announced it had taken the town.
“After months of heavy fighting, including over the past weeks, the Armed Forces of Ukraine left (Soledar) and retreated along the outskirts to pre-prepared positions,” said military spokesman Sergiy Cherevaty told AFP. He nevertheless refused to say exactly when the retreat took place.
Members of Scholz’s three-party coalition government welcomed the news ahead of the official announcement which is expected in a speech to parliament in early afternoon. “The Leopard’s freed!” said German lawmaker Katrin Goering-Eckardt, a senior Green party lawmaker.
FRANCE 24’s correspondent Nick Spicer has more on the story from Berlin.
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that the frigate Admiral Gorshkov tested strike capability with Zircon missiles with a range of more than 900 km.
Berlin was expected to announce a decision Wednesday on the export of powerful German-made Leopard battle tanks long sought by Kyiv, and encouraged allies to start training Ukrainian forces to use them. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to make an announcement at the Bundestag during an address to German MPs.
According to magazine Spiegel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had decided to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and to allow other countries such as Poland to do so as well. The magazine, which first reported the news, said Berlin was planning to supply at least one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks, which usually comprises 14 tanks. Other allies, in Scandinavia for example, intend to go along with Germany in supplying their Leopard tanks to Kyiv, the magazine reported.
The possible deliveries of battle tanks by Washington to Ukraine will be a “another blatant provocation” against Russia, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, said on Wednesday.
“It is obvious that Washington is purposefully trying to inflict a strategic defeat on us,” Antonov said in remarks published on the embassy’s Telegram messaging app.
“If the United States decides to supply tanks, then justifying such a step with arguments about ‘defensive weapons’ will definitely not work. This would be another blatant provocation against the Russian Federation.”
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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