Why Ukrainians desperately want Leopard – The pressure in Berlin

With western tanks the Ukrainian government seeks to strengthen its armed forces for more and successful counterattacks against the Russian military. Kyiv insists on Germany, in addition to the howitzers and rocket launchers it has already received, for tanks Leopard 2 A4, but also armored type Marder.

Military experts point out the decisive role of these two armored vehicles in the recapture of occupied territories, but also in battles in an urban environment. “Armed forces of 18 countries trust Leopard’s all-round superiority”, writes the German manufacturer KMW. Not a few experts, regardless of KMW’s credit, call the Leopard “the best tank in the world.”

Wars in Europe are decided in the cities

“Battles in the Ukrainian war are not fought exclusively, but mostly with armored formations,” states the German Ministry of Defense. The tanks are characterized by “high dynamics and high mobility” despite the tracks and movement on difficult terrain, concludes the German Brigadier General Bjorn Schultz: “In the countryside, but also in the urban area, where there is debris, damaged cars and similar obstacles, we are able to achieve maximum dynamics and speed.” At the same time the Leopards offer the operators or the soldiers moving around it great security. The advantages of the battle tank undoubtedly include the 120mm cannon with significant firepower and the simultaneous protection it offers to manpower.

“A war on European soil is unthinkable to be fought exclusively outside the cities. There are industrial areas, villages, small towns, big cities scattered across the continent. Wars are usually decided there,” Brigadier General Bjorn Schultz estimates, and adds that “critical infrastructure, government buildings and power plants are located in these places.”

No western country has sent tanks to Ukraine

On Kiev’s persistent demands for the delivery of Leopard and Marder tanks, which were made once again during the recent visit of the German Foreign Minister Analenas Burbok in Kyiv, the chancellor Olaf Solz he replies that Germany has already sent heavy weaponry to Ukraine, which is already being successfully used in the field. At the same time, however, the German chancellor rules out unilateral decisions on behalf of Germany. And it is a fact that no country has sent western tanks to Ukraine.

For her part, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense Affairs, Marie Agner Strack Zimmermantold the German News Agency (dpa) on Thursday that “there are no longer strong arguments against sending heavy weapons to Ukraine”. In her opinion, “the Ukrainian forces have shown in the most impressive way that they are able to quickly learn how to operate Western weapon systems. And the politician of the co-ruling Liberals concludes: “We should take this fact into account and act accordingly.”

DW / Carsten Hoffman, dpa / Editor: Stefanos Georgakopoulos

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