Rotterdam, Netherlands:
Germany has delivered promised Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday, providing Kiev with much-needed heavy weapons against Russia.
The delivery of what Scholz said were “very modern” German-made main battle tanks comes about two months after Berlin finally gave the green light to send them.
Ukraine has appealed to its Western allies to fulfill their commitments of heavy weapons to push back Russian troops ahead of a possible spring counter-offensive by Kiev.
“Yes, we delivered Leopard tanks as we announced,” Scholz told a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Rotterdam when asked to confirm a report in Spiegel news outlet.
“We are delivering very modern (tanks) that we have now delivered.”
According to the Spiegel report, Berlin had delivered 18 of the advanced Leopards, with the last tanks leaving Germany late last week before being handed over to Ukraine at the border.
The German Defense Ministry later confirmed the 18 Leopard deliveries, along with two armored “Buffel” tank recovery vehicles.
About 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles have also arrived in Ukraine, it said.
“Our tanks came into the hands of our Ukrainian friends as promised and on time,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement.
“I’m sure they can make a difference on the ground.”
Berlin kept the route of the deliveries secret for security reasons, Spiegel said.
– ‘Dangerous’ –
Ukrainian soldiers were trained on the 2A6s, the most advanced Leopard models, at German military bases. They also trained on Spanish bases.
At the end of January, Berlin finally gave the green light to Leopards – one of the world’s most advanced tanks and used by militaries across Europe – to be sent to Ukraine.
At the same time, the US said it would send advanced American Abrams tanks.
According to German law, any country that wants to send the tanks to another country must first get permission from Berlin.
Scholz’s government initially said it wanted to assemble two battalions of tanks for Kiev with allies – about 60 tanks in all.
But they’ve struggled to get the numbers together ever since.
The German and Dutch cabinets held a special joint session on Monday in the port city of Rotterdam in the enormous, mirrored depot of art museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
Scholz and Rutte said they had discussed military support to Ukraine and their “unique” military cooperation, with Germany and the Netherlands merging some armed units.
“The European message remains completely clear, even after more than a year: we support Ukraine in all areas and we will do so for as long as it takes,” said Rutte.
The Dutch Prime Minister also condemned recent Russian statements, including former President Dmitry Medvedev who spoke of targeting the International Criminal Court in The Hague with a hypersonic missile.
Earlier this month, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges.
“We find these kinds of statements irresponsible and dangerous,” Rutte said.
“So is the threat to place nuclear weapons in Belarus,” he said, referring to Putin’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear bombs in Russia’s ally Belarus.
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