West fails to make decision on sending tanks to Ukraine, despite Germany summit
Western nations have failed to agree on a deal to send much-wanted Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite holding a summit in Germany.
The US and its allies had hoped to convince Berlin to allow the powerful battle tanks to be used by Kyiv to aid in Ukraine’s fightback against Russia.
The UK has already agreed to send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks, in the hope of pushing Germany into reciprocating, while Poland has said it is ready to send a number of its Leopard 2s if Berlin, which holds the export licence, agrees.
On Friday, representatives from more than 50 allied nations met at a US air base in Germany for a meeting Ukrainian defence chiefs hoped would finally end the lengthy back-and-forths.
Participants attend the meeting at Ramstein Air Base
Kyiv says the tanks will bolster the ability of its armed forces to launch offensive operations against entrenched Russian positions.
But the summit at Ramstein air base ended without an agreement on tanks, despite pleas from Kyiv officials.
Ukraine war latest: West fails to make decision on sending tanks to Ukraine
As the talks concluded, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged Kyiv would have to keep fighting to ensure it has enough heavy armour.
But he said the Ramstein meeting, which instead ended with billions of dollars in commitments, would strengthen Ukraine’s resilience.
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov gestures as he talks to Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg
“Yes, we will still have to fight for the delivery of modern tanks, but every day we make it more obvious that there is no alternative to taking a decision about tanks,” he said.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, who attended the summit alongside his counterparts from Ukraine and Germany, said Ukraine was well-equipped even without the Leopard 2s.
Read more:
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It announced a package of $2.5bn (£2bn) in military aid ahead of Friday’s talks, including Stryker armoured personnel carriers and more Bradley fighting vehicles.
Sources in Germany have suggested Berlin may change its reluctance to allow Leopard tanks to be sent to Ukraine, if the US sends its Abrams tanks too.
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Defence chief Boris Pistorius – who only took up the job this week after his predecessor was forced to resign – defended his country’s position and insisted Germany did “not fear anything” by allowing the use of Leopard 2s.
“We just have a responsibility for our population in Germany and in Europe and we have to balance all the pros and contras before we decide things like that,” Mr Pistorius said.
Why does Ukraine want Leopard 2 tanks?
The Ukrainians have a lot of tanks, but they’re also T tanks, mainly the T-64 and T-72, which are old and vulnerable to Russian attack. To repel a springtime Russian offensive they need modern battle tanks which are far better protected, faster and more deadly.
The best tank for Ukraine would be the German-made Leopard 2. Tanks are rated on their ability to strike other targets and their resilience from attack.
The Leopard 2 moves fast, has state-of-the-art targeting and is well protected by armour. It is also, crucially, operated by 14 European countries, so spare parts are widely available.
Britain is sending Challengers – a highly capable tank – but the UK can only spare around a dozen of them. Ukraine wants 300 tanks. Experts say if it gets 100 that will be enough to make a difference. Read more here.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleskii Reznikov said on Twitter that he had “a frank discussion” with Mr Pistorius on Friday about the supply of Leopard tanks, adding that the talks would continue.
Top US military officer General Mark Milley, meanwhile, attempted to put on a show of unity.
“I think that over my 43 years in uniform, this is the most unified I’ve ever seen NATO,” declared General Milley.
This is the highest stakes diplomacy via social media.
The American president just posted on his Truth Social platform: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers.
“Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Israel-Iran live: Trump says US knows where Iran’s supreme leader is ‘hiding’
It was followed minutes later by “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
In real-time, we are witnessing Donald Trump’s extreme version of maximum pressure diplomacy.
He’d probably call it the ‘art of the deal’, but bunker busters are the tool, and it comes with such huge consequences, intended and unintended, known and unknown.
Read more:
The bunker buster bomb which could destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions
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Nuclear sites targeted in Iran
There is intentional ambiguity in the president’s messaging. His assumption is that he can apply his ‘art of the deal’ strategy to a deeply ideological geopolitical challenge.
It’s all playing out publicly. Overnight, the New York Times, via two of its best-sourced reporters, had been told that Mr Trump is weighing whether to use B-2 aircraft to drop bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Axios was reporting that a meeting is possible between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
The reporting came just as Mr Trump warned “everyone in Tehran to evacuate”. The nuclear sites being threatened with bunker busters are not in Tehran, but Trump’s words are designed to stoke tension, to confuse and to apply intense pressure.
His actions are too. He left the G7 in Canada early and asked his teams to gather in the White House Situation Room.
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Trump: ‘I want an end, not a ceasefire’
This is a game of smoke, mirrors, brinkmanship and – maybe – bluff. In Tehran, what’s left of the leadership is watching and reading closely as they consider what’s next.
Maybe the Supreme Leader and his regime’s days are numbered. Things remain very unpredictable.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
From history, though, regime change, even when it comes with a plan – and there is certainly not one here, spells civil war and from that comes a refugee crisis.
These are truly tense and chaotic times.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
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