Several European countries promised to send their main battle tank Leopard 2 to Ukraine, but Germany, the manufacturer, hesitated to approve it, putting the brakes on the movement to support the tank.



Germany is trying to pass the ball to the United States, saying, "The United States must support the Abrams tank first," amid fears of a possible escalation of war, but the level of pressure from the West toward Germany is increasing.



American CNN broadcasting and British daily Guardian, etc., focused on analyzing the surrounding situation related to the German-made Leopard 2 tank support.



Introduced for the first time in 1979, the Leopard 2 is used as a main battle tank in 10 countries including the German army as well as European countries and Canada.



In the meantime, it has been deployed to conflict areas such as Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Syria.



Ukraine has been persistently asking for support by picking up the Leopard 2 tank, saying it needs heavy weapons to fight the Russian invasion.



Ukraine, which had only old tanks made during the former Soviet Union, is in desperate need of a modernized tank strategy to counterattack the Russian army with the new main tank T-90 and regain territory.



Considering accessibility here, the Guardian pointed out that Leopard 2, which is widely used in neighboring countries such as Poland, is evaluated as suitable for Ukraine support.



Ukraine is asking the West to need 300 tanks, but experts say that even 100 tanks will act as a 'game changer' that can change the balance of the war.



Recently, the international community's attention was focused on Germany as Poland, Finland and Denmark announced their intention to send Leopard 2 that they own to Ukraine.



This is because exporting this tank to a third country requires approval from Germany, the country of manufacture.



Even Britain promised to support the main Challenger 2 tank, which is similar in weight to the Leopard 2, and the pressure on Germany increased.



However, at the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group (UDCG) meeting of 50 Western countries held on the 20th at the U.S. Air Force Base in Ramstein, Germany, the agreement on support for Leopard 2 was unsuccessful.



German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said after the meeting that "there was no consensus among the participating countries on the supply of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine".



The Guardian explained that Germany has been internally conflicted over its support for Ukraine, saying, "Germany prefers a multilateral approach to arms supply rather than a unilateral move."



Moreover, Germany has historically struggled with the tradition of 'anti-militarism' since it caused and lost World War II.



It is in this context that Germany is slowing down in the supply of weapons such as tanks, which have strong combat power, while providing a large amount of military equipment such as armored vehicles to Ukraine.



According to CNN, Germany ranks third after the US and UK in terms of aid to the war in Ukraine.



Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is known to have placed a condition on US President Joe Biden that “the US must also send an Abrams M1 tank to Ukraine,” but Abrams consumes very high fuel. comes out



Within Germany, the pros and cons of tank support are still raging.



Opponents point out that tank support raises the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states' involvement and increases the risk of escalating war, but supporters argue that Russia is the one who attacks civilian infrastructure and escalates the conflict with nuclear threats. there is.



As Germany continued to struggle without making a decision, dissatisfaction began to erupt not only in Ukraine but also among its Western allies.



According to AFP, on the 21st, the day after the UDCG meeting, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak criticized on Twitter that "today's indecision is killing more of our people."



The foreign ministers of the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, issued a joint statement and said, "We request that Germany provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now." .



Public criticism of Germany by European countries is rare, AFP said.



A senior NATO diplomat said Germany's hesitation would send a bad signal to its long-term allies.



(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)