Olaf Scholz’s government confirmed sending 14 Leopard-2 tanks to fight the Russians, authorizing other countries to send their tanks to Ukraine.
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Now it’s official: Germany is indeed going to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The announcement was made this Wednesday in a statement from the Olaf Scholz government, which approved the shipment of 14 tanks to Ukrainian territory. Germany has also approved requests from other countries in the same sense, according to a spokesman for the Berlin executive.
It’s official. Germany to send 14 Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine
“This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine in the best possible way. We operate internationally in a very coordinated way, ”said the German chancellor, quoted by her spokeswoman, Steffen Hebestreit.
Olaf Scholz guarantees that he “did not get carried away by the wave” when sending the Leopard-2 to Ukraine, but had to “break the rule”
In a speech this morning in the European Parliament, Olaf Scholz assured that the country “did not get carried away by the wave” when it agreed to the request to send Leopard-2 type tanks to Ukraine. The German ruler left a message to citizens who fear the consequences of this military support for the Ukrainians: “Have confidence in the government.”
Olaf Scholz admitted that he had to “break a rule” by giving not only humanitarian and financial aid, but also war aid: “In Germany, we had to break a rule. We now supply the largest number of weapons together with Great Britain. If we add up what we have decided to deliver so far, we can say that Germany will always be a pioneer in supporting Ukraine.”
“There are no mathematical certainties, it is not possible to say where the right and wrong decisions are,” admitted the German chancellor, but the decision to deliver tanks (including the Leopard-2) and other types of war material was made in “close collaboration ” with allies.
NATO Secretary General thanks Germany: “I salute the leadership”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has already come to thank the German Chancellor for sending Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine. “I salute the leadership of the Chancellor of Germany,” the head of the transatlantic alliance wrote on his Twitter account, noting that the decision was made after “consultations with other NATO allies and partners.”
Jens Stoltenberg stressed that at this “critical moment in Russia’s war” in Ukraine, tanks can help kyiv to “fight back”, win the conflict and also “prevail as an independent nation”.
I welcome the leadership of @Bundeskanzler & #Germany in providing #leopard2 tanks to #Ukraine in consultation with others #BORN Allies and partners. At a critical moment in Russia’s war, they can help Ukraine defend itself, win, and prevail as an independent nation.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) January 25, 2023
Source: Observadora