Ukraine, green light from Berlin to send Leopards via Poland. Crosetto: “Italy will send missiles”
Germany seems to have given the first go-ahead for sending tanks, albeit indirectly, to Ukraine. After the impasse of the last few weeks on supplies of the “Leopards”, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has opened up the possibility of having them arrive via Poland. “For the moment the question has not been asked, but if it were asked we would not oppose it”, said the exponent of the Greens in an interview with the French broadcaster Lci.
A stance that follows Warsaw’s announcement of its intention to deliver 14 German-made tanks to Kiev, after the recent hesitations by Berlin. If the German government refuses to supply Ukraine with tanks, “we will create a ‘small coalition’ of countries ready to donate some of their modern equipment, their modern tanks,” said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who yesterday he called Germany’s behavior “unacceptable”.
In the afternoon, Emmanuel Macron had indicated that France does not rule out supplying its Leclerc tanks to Ukraine, after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the Franco-German Council of Ministers. “As regards the Leclercs, I asked the defense minister to work on them. Nothing is excluded and it is something that we all evaluate together,” said the French president, while the head of the German government did not expose himself. “The way we have acted in the past is always closely coordinated with our friends and allies and we will continue to act according to the concrete situation,” Scholz said.
In the meantime, the pressure on Berlin and the other allies continues from Kiev to get new military aid. “Partners must realize the truth: there is a leak in the global ship and the Ukrainian part of the crew is fighting for the survival of the ship,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency. “Waiting won’t work. To save the ship, everyone must act together. That means tanks, missiles, weapons, money and more for Ukraine.”
For its part, Italy is preparing the sixth package of military aid to Kiev, after having authorized supplies of around one billion, according to estimates cited by Foreign Minister Tajani. Speaking on “Che tempo che fa” on Rai 3, Defense Minister Crosetto confirmed that the new aid package “will give the Ukrainians the possibility of defending themselves against air attacks”. “It means missiles that shoot down other missiles,” the co-founder of Fratelli d’Italia specified yesterday.
If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons which will then be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to take over our territories there will be retaliation with more powerful weapons”, Moscow threatened today. According to the chairman of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, arms supplies to Ukraine will lead “to a world catastrophe”. The United States and European parliamentarians, he wrote on Telegram, “should realize their responsibility towards humanity”.
