Claimed by kyiv for weeks, the delivery of German Leopard tanks is slipping and looks less ambitious than expected, to the point that Berlin has called its allies to order.
After being pressed from all sides to give the green light to sending this jewel of German armament, Chancellor Olaf Scholz came down on Friday to bang his fist on the table during the Munich Security Conference .
Military assistance to Ukraine "implies that all those who can provide such combat tanks really do so", he said during this great gathering which brings together leaders and experts each year.
Mr. Scholz, criticized by Germany's allies before he gave his agreement at the end of January, assures that he will "work actively" on this file during informal meetings and bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the conference.
“From the point of view of the political message, it is useful to remind” those who have promised to act to join the “action to the word”, underlines Camille Grand, of the European Council for Foreign Relations, to AFP.
Especially since, in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces continue to nibbling ground.
The head of the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner said on Friday that his men had taken Paraskoviïvka, a Ukrainian town which adjoins Bakhmout to the north, which the Russians have been trying to seize for more than six months.
However, AFP was unable to verify the validity of these statements from an independent source.
On Monday, the Wagner group announced that it had conquered Krasna Hora, a locality which touches Paraskoviïvka.
The 14 tanks promised by the German government, taken from Bundeswehr equipment, are expected in Ukraine at the end of March. Ukrainian soldiers are currently being trained in their handling in northern Germany.
During this time, the other countries are showing their commitment in dribs and drabs. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Friday criticized those who "are slower" than Germany.
A message also carried by Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president called on the allies to "accelerate" their military support, in a video intervention at the opening of the Conference.
Expected, according to some experts, to have a decisive effect on the battlefield, these tanks, produced jointly by the German companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall, are awaited by the Ukrainian forces who fear a vast Russian offensive in the next weeks.
"Ukraine probably still has a window of opportunity to launch full-scale counter-offensives...but its ability to do so depends heavily on the speed and scale with which the West provides the necessary equipment," said the American Institute for War Studies (ISW).
At the end of January, Berlin undertook to make available to Ukraine, together with other countries, around thirty Leopard 2 combat tanks.
Germany had to agree on Wednesday that the shipment would ultimately cover "half a battalion", or about fifteen of these armored vehicles.
"Let's be clear: we haven't reached a battalion, it will be half a battalion," Pistorius acknowledged after a meeting in Brussels.
The German minister clarified that his country would be able to supply "14 Leopard 2 A6 from Germany, plus three announced by Portugal", delivered in "the last week of March".
Poland, particularly pressing with regard to Germany before the green light from Mr. Scholz, had announced the delivery of 14 Leopard 2A4, an older model. But President Andrzej Duda, who went to Brussels this week, gave no indication of the date of the supply of these armored vehicles.
Canada has pledged four Leopard 24As - one of which was shipped in early February - while Finland and Sweden have said they want to contribute to the effort.
Norway will donate eight Leopard 2s to Ukraine along with ammunition, spare parts and up to four support vehicles.
Spain plans to send four to six Leopard 2A4s to Ukraine, according to government sources. But these tanks, which had not been in service for more than ten years, must be repaired.
The supply of 14 Leopard 2 by the Netherlands has been mentioned but the tanks are mobilized for the German-Dutch brigade, explained the German minister.
Ukraine should be able to count on at least one hundred Leopard 1 A5 tanks in the coming months. These tanks, supplied by Berlin, The Hague and Copenhagen, are however much older.
This situation caused the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell to react on Wednesday. "I call on all European countries with modern tanks gathering dust in the barracks: give them to Ukraine! And give them as soon as possible," he said.
17/02/2023 19:31:34 - Munich (Allemagne) (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
