German tanks that France and Poland want to send to Ukraine… what is it

Politico, a US political media outlet, reported on the 9th (local time) that France and Poland are pressuring Germany, the developer of the Leopard 2 tank, to supply the tank to Ukraine.

According to Politico, a French official said he was working on reaching an agreement to support Leopard 2 tanks in Ukraine ahead of a summit with Germany on the 22nd.

Poland, a country bordering Ukraine and facing a major security crisis from Russia, is more active.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pavel Jablonski recently appeared on the radio and said: “We are talking to several countries about broad partnerships to support modern tanks like the Leopard.”

The German-developed Leopard 2 tank is a heavily armed tank equipped with advanced defense systems and a 120mm gun.

It is supplied as a main battle tank not only to Germany but also to many Western European countries such as Spain, Poland, Greece, Denmark and Finland.

However, as this tank was developed and manufactured by the German defense company Krauss Maffei Wegmann, German approval is required for re-export. The German government has not yet expressed its approval.

However, on the 5th, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz issued a joint press release, announcing that the United States would supply Bradley and Germany, respectively, with a Madre armored vehicle to Ukraine. The Bradley and the Mother are light tanks and less powerful than the Leopard Tank.

Earlier, Politico reported that the British government was considering supporting the Challenger 2 tank, the first main battle tank for a Western country.

Military experts said: “Even in the early stages of the war in Ukraine, the West, including the United States, supported defensive weapons instead of offensive weapons such as tanks out of fear of an escalation of the war with Russia.”