Moscow had calculated the anti-Kremlin coalition would wobble, something that has not happened, they added. The delivery of western tanks and other advanced weapon systems would show the Kremlin’s assumptions about the war’s likely progress were wrong. They suggested the moves – agreed with the UK, US and European allies – would boost the “narrative” that Ukraine would liberate further territory in 2023. But he added that he wanted such a move to be part of a wider set of announcements, adding “We want it to be an international coalition.”Īnother western official said there would be a series of coordinated announcements next week. Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, said on Wednesday during a visit to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv that a company of Leopard tanks “will be handed over as part of coalition-building”. German sources said Leopard 2 decision was fraught in governmental circles because of the legacy of the second world war, but what would help the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is “other allied countries making similar decisions” to supply tanks. There are more than 2,000 Leopard 2s in Europe, held by armies in 13 countries, but Berlin’s consent is required before any of the German-made kit can be re-exported to Ukraine. It is hoped in Ukraine and elsewhere this will pave the way for Germany to follow. Earlier this week, it emerged that Britain was considering supplying Ukraine with the tanks, following months of requests from Kyiv – with a final decision in the hands of the prime minister, Rishi Sunak.Ī handful of Challenger 2s, taken from the UK’s existing fleet of 227, would not in itself make much difference on the battlefield, but it would be the first time any western country has agreed to send its own heavy armour to Ukraine.
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