Unsurprisingly, Berlin defers to Washington on the subject of Leopard 2 to Ukraine

By announcing, at the start of the week, sending a company of tanks Leopard 2 to Ukraine within the framework of an "international alliance of contributors", the Polish President, Andrzej Duda, knew full well that he would cause great embarrassment to Germany, which had in no way given its agreement on this subject, while this authorization is required as part of military equipment export agreements. For the Polish president, it was, once again, after the Mig-29 episode, to flatter its image in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, to the detriment of its German neighbor, otherwise a relatively easy target because it is already subject of much criticism since the beginning of the conflict. The latter in fact knew full well that Berlin could not give its agreement easily, especially since German public opinion is mainly hostile to sending German heavy tanks to Ukraine, and that such a step would represent a new break with the traditional German position in case of conflict.

What was predictable did not take long to happen. Indeed, on social networks, Poland and President Duda were celebrated as paragons of virtue and courage, while murderous considerations towards Germany, which was slow to give its agreement, were heard from all sides. Let us recall, however, that the Leopard 2 Polish units were acquired from Berlin following the shift to the west of Eastern Europe, at exceptionally low prices, in order to replace the oldest Soviet equipment and strengthen the country's defensive capabilities. And when Warsaw announced the sending of T-72s then PT-91s to Ukraine, Berlin proposed to replace them, as for other countries, with a transfer of tanks Leopard 2, which Warsaw refused because the armored vehicles offered by Germany were of the A4 standard and not the latest A7+ standard, which was considerably more expensive.

In any case, to get out of the trap set by President Duda, Olaf Scholz announced that he would accept the transfer of tanks Leopard 2 to Ukraine, including those held by its clients like Finland, Poland and others, only after the United States reportedly announced the shipment of heavy Abrams tanks to the country. Indeed, if Duda feels in a position of strength, probably wrongly, vis-à-vis European countries, he has never dared to challenge the United States by announcing the re-export of American equipment to Kyiv, as he did not do so, like all the Eastern countries quick to criticize Germany, on the subject of the Israeli SPIKE anti-tank missiles, widely in service in these armies and which would undoubtedly have brought significant added value to the Ukrainian defenders. Indeed, Jerusalem is opposed to sending materials of this type to Ukraine, so as not to provoke a hardening of Russian positions in Syria or the Caucasus.

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