Poland demands from Germany to replace Soviet-made tanks given to Ukraine with the latest German Leopards. The day before, the President of Poland said he was disappointed that Berlin had not handed over the cars
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The German authorities are amazed by the statement of Polish President Andrzej Duda, who accused Berlin of failing to fulfill the promise to transfer German tanks to the Polish side in exchange for those sent to Ukraine. This was stated by the representative of the German government Steffen Hebeshtreit.
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“The government is smitten,” Hebeshtreit said.
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The criticism of the Polish leader is taken into account, but “this does not make it right,” said a cabinet spokesman.
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Earlier, Duda, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that the German government had not kept its promise to transfer Leopard tanks in exchange for those given by Warsaw to Ukraine, and the Polish side was “very disappointed” by this. According to Duda, his country has donated “a large number of tanks” to Kyiv, as it is its responsibility as a neighbor.
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Poland handed over 232 Soviet-made T-72M1 tanks to Ukraine at the end of April. Polish radio noted that in total Warsaw had 400 such machines, some of them were finalized several years ago, but Kyiv was transferred mainly to those that were not included in the modernization program.
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Relations between Poland and Germany escalated due to the protracted supply of tanks. The Bundestag claims they have no Leopards available for transfer, and Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht admitted in a closed meeting that she had little hope of reaching an agreement with Warsaw.
