US Defence Secretary on tanks: You heard German Defence Minister

Lloyd Austin, United States Secretary of Defence, at the final press conference regarding the Ramstein Format Meeting, has commented on the lack of a decision regarding the supply of German tanks to Ukraine. Source: European Pravda Details: In response to a question about whether the ministers discussed the supply of tanks to Ukraine, Austin referred to his German counterpart: "You may have heard the German minister of defence say that they've not made a decision on Leopards."

Austin also said he had no comment on the supply of Abrams tanks. When answering the question if Germany is doing enough to show "real leadership" in Europe, Austin said: "Yes, but we can all do more."

The Pentagon's Head noted that the allies are currently focused on helping Ukraine to make it successful on the battlefield "now". "What we're really focused on is making sure that Ukraine has the capability that it needs to be successful right now.

So we have a window of opportunity here between now and the spring or whenever they commence their offensive," he said. Austin also said that some allies still intend to provide Ukraine with battle tanks, in particular, Poland and the UK. He described the military aid package being sent to Ukraine as "very, very powerful."

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"I really do believe that it [the military aid package - ed.] will enable the Ukrainians to be successful going forward. So this is not dependent upon a single platform, this is a combined arms effort that we brought together, that I truly believe is going to provide them with the best opportunity for success," he said. Ukraine's western partners are putting pressure on Berlin in order to give the "green light" to at least the re-export of German-made tanks.

However, according to Boris Pistorius, Federal Minister of Defence of Germany, no decision was reached regarding the supply of tanks to Ukraine. Pistorius said there was "no unanimity" among allies on the issue.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish Prime Minister, hinted that Warsaw could dispatch a company of German-made tanks to Ukraine without Berlin's consent if it waited for the approval for too long.

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