© Getty ImagesWestern-made tanks like the Leopard have been seen as a 'game-changer' for Ukraine
It comes as Germany just appointed a new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, after scandal-plagued Christine Lambrecht resigned the day prior, after also long being accused of representing weakness on arming Ukraine. The Scholz government said it will be up for the new defense minister to mull the question of tanks for Ukraine, as Kiev's pleas grow louder.
According to fresh Wall Street Journal reporting:
"Germany won't allow allies to ship German-made tanks to Ukraine to help its defense against Russia nor send its own systems unless the U.S. agrees to send American-made battle tanks, senior German officials said on Wednesday."Multiple NATO countries have now expressed their willingness to send the highly sophisticated German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine, namely, Poland, Denmark and Finland - but Berlin has to sign off on it first.
This month has witnessed for the first time in the 11-month long war a growing political momentum to ship Western-made heavy tanks to the Ukrainian battlefield, instead of the infantry carriers and Soviet tanks thus far supplied.
The German reluctance in approval comes after the opening months of the Russian invasion triggered an about-face in German foreign policy, as Berlin has now abandoned its historic neutrality. "One can't differentiate between direct exports (of German-made tanks) and exports by third countries," a senior German official was quoted in the WSJ report as explaining of Berlin's stance.
But it seems Germany is now clearly signaling that Washington must lead the way in opening the flood gates of a heavy weapons system as significant as tanks onto the Ukraine battlefield. But perhaps it's also calling a US bluff of sorts, essentially telling Biden: 'wanna talk big on Ukraine?... you first'.
The timing of the WSJ's German tank story is interesting, also given the same day top Republican committee chairs in Congress are ramping up the pressure on Biden, demanding that the US approve what are widely seen as 'weapons needed to win' against Russia.
"Leopard 2 tanks, ATACMS, and other long-range precision munitions should be approved without delay," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said in a statement reported by Bloomberg. The pair of lawmakers at the same time criticized the "current indecision and self-deterrence" which they say will only prolong the conflict.
But Germany's Scholz has consistently expressed a desire to avoid potential direct military escalation with Russia at all costs. Approving tanks would likely plunge Germany deeper in right alongside the US as things continue sliding toward direct confrontation.
Meanwhile, sabotage from Scholz?...
But here's what Scholz told his peers at Davos today..."...we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary..."
It was fine when it was indirect confrontation, and your puppet took the losses.