After the Polish government was the first NATO country to formally apply in Berlin to be allowed to transfer its Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, the German government wants to decide quickly on an export license for the tanks.

"We will treat the case with the urgency it deserves," a government spokesman told Reuters.

Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) also promised that Germany would make a quick decision on the delivery of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.

"I expect that a decision will be made shortly," Pistorius told journalists on Tuesday morning after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Berlin.

He "expressly encouraged" other partner countries that already had battle tanks of this model to start training Ukrainian soldiers on them.

Poland wants Germany to deliver itself

Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced the Polish application on Twitter on Tuesday.

At the same time, he called on Germany to supply tanks itself: “I also appeal to the German side to join the coalition of states that are supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.

This is our common cause, because it is about the security of all of Europe!” Stoltenberg defended the federal government against the background of the ongoing discussion about German Leopard deliveries.

Among Ukraine's allies, Berlin provides the "most extensive military, financial and humanitarian support" to Kyiv, he said.

"Weapons from Germany save lives in Ukraine every day."

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki urged a quick decision in Berlin.

"I hope that the answer from Germany will come quickly, because the Germans hesitate, evade and act in a way that is difficult to understand," he told a news conference on Thursday. "We can see that they are the Ukraine will not want to help defend itself on a broader scale." Poland will also seek compensation from the EU for the cost of the requested supplies of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. "We will seek reimbursement from the European Union another test of good will," said Morawiecki.

After 1989, Poland bought about 240 second-hand Leopard 2 tanks cheaply from Germany.

Today they are the core of the Polish armored forces, after Poland has already handed over many tanks of Soviet design, some of which have been fundamentally modernized, to the neighboring country.

Two weeks ago, Poland's President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw could equip a Ukrainian company with Leopards.

That would cover about a dozen tanks.

NATO and EU countries together own well over 2,000 Leopard tanks.

At the same time, for the first time since Poland joined the alliance in 1999, a larger squad of German soldiers will be deployed to the country ready for action.

It's about two anti-aircraft squadrons from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

They are to protect the airspace of the alliance partner about 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border near the city of Zamość.

Nearby is a transshipment station for civilian and military goods destined for Ukraine.

Firing systems, radar and target units are relocated.