Germany faces backlash over refusal to give Ukraine tanks
KYIV, Ukraine — Germany faced a strong backlash from allies on Saturday over its refusal to supply Ukraine with its vaunted Leopard tanks to boost its fighting capacity in the nearly year-long war with Russia.
On Friday, some 50 nations agreed to provide Kyiv with billions of dollars’ worth of military hardware, including ample armoured vehicles and munitions needed to push back Russian forces.
But German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters on the sidelines of the event at the US Ramstein Air Base that despite heightened expectations, “We still cannot say when a decision will be taken, and what the decision will be, when it comes to the Leopard tank.”
On Saturday, several allies echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in saying that the tanks were essential to Ukraine’s fight with its much larger neighbour.
In a joint statement — and a rare public criticism of Europe’s top power — the foreign ministers of the three Baltic
