Before the conference on military aid to his country in Ramstein, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyі again called for the supply of Leopard main battle tanks and criticized the German government. This is reported by DW.
In an interview with the German TV channel ARD, published on the evening of Thursday, January 19, Zelenskyi said that he does not consider Berlin's desire to focus on the supply of weapons to other countries, rather than its own capabilities, to be acceptable.
"Now is not the time to bargain, but the time to survive. We have to survive," Zelenskyі said. According to him, the West wants to hold discussions for another six months, but instead, people are dying in Ukraine every day.
"If you have Leopard tanks, give them to us," urged the head of the Ukrainian state. At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine is defending itself against Russian invasion and does not plan to attack Russia. "These Leopard tanks will not drive through Russia. We are defending ourselves," he said.
Germany will not allow allies to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine to help it repel Russian aggression until the United States agrees to send its own Abrams tanks, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing senior German officials.