Germany officially greenlights Leopard tank supplies to Ukraine

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has officially announced that Germany would supply 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. Germany will also give allies permission to supply their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The decision was officially announced on January 25, the birthday of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The politician turns 45 today.

“This decision is in line with our policy of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability,” Scholz said in a statement.

The day before, Spiegel reported that such a decision would be taken. This was preceded by several days of intensive consultations by the German leadership with allies, especially Washington.

Earlier Poland said it was ready to give Ukraine 14 Leopard tanks. The Polish prime minister said Warsaw was waiting for a “clear signal” from Berlin that it would not object to supplies of German tanks to the third country.