The Polish government announced Tuesday that it has already sent a formal request to the German government to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, as requested by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak confirmed this step on Twitter, with a call also for Germany to join the coalition that Poland wants to form to strengthen the offensive capacity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. «It is our common cause, because it is about the security of the whole of Europe,» he said.
The agreement on the sale of the tanks to Poland theoretically vetoes their export to a third country, which is why Warsaw needs to ask Berlin for permission first. However, the Polish government has already put on the table a possible unilateral delivery in case the German authorities do not accept.
The German Executive, meanwhile, has stated that it will draw up an inventory of the Leopards before deciding whether to hand over several of them to Ukraine as well. German Defense Minister Botris Pistorius said Tuesday in an interview with ZDF that the decision could come within days, according to DPA.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)