BERLIN — Germany will ship at the least one firm of its personal Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and permit different European nations to ship theirs as effectively, a number of German information retailers reported Tuesday.
The corporate of Leopard 2A6 tanks will come from German army shares, in accordance with Der Spiegel journal. NTV tv and German newswire DPA additionally confirmed the report, citing authorities officers. A German authorities spokesperson declined to remark.
The obvious break within the impasse over the tanks got here after the Wall Avenue Journal reported that President Biden is contemplating sending U.S.-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Germany had beforehand stated {that a} U.S. choice to ship Abrams would assist ease the way in which for it to ship its personal Leopard 2s, however later denied that there was any “linkage.”
“It’s now the matter that’s being mentioned on the highest degree,” a senior Ukrainian official stated of the U.S.-European talks to work out a deal on Abrams and Leopards. The official, who stated he had been briefed on the matter, declined to be named as a result of sensitivity of the topic.“We’ve a constructive feeling,” he stated.
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Different international locations have supplied completely different tanks: America will ship its Bradley Preventing Automobiles however not its M1 Abrams tanks, whereas Britain has promised 14 Challenger 2 fashions this month. However the Leopard 2’s velocity and ease of use — in addition to the truth that there are lots of of them already in Europe — have made them extra enticing to Kyiv. Even older variations of the tank have trendy optics, together with thermal imaging, that permit them to function day and night time.
Natalia Abbakumova, Vanessa Guinan-Financial institution, Shane Harris, John Hudson, Isabelle Khurshudyan, Dan Lamothe and Amar Nadhir contributed to this report.