{"id":137494,"date":"2023-01-19T17:52:19","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T17:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/01\/19\/austin-meets-new-german-defense-minister-over-ukraine-tank-support\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:48:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:48:25","slug":"austin-meets-new-german-defense-minister-over-ukraine-tank-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2023\/01\/19\/austin-meets-new-german-defense-minister-over-ukraine-tank-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin meets new German defense minister over Ukraine tank support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Leopard 2 tanks participate in a demonstration at the German Army training grounds in Munster on Feb. 7, 2022. (Sean Gallup\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin<\/a> met with Germany\u2019s newly appointed defense minister, Boris Pistorius<\/a>, on Thursday to push Berlin to approve the transfer of German-made tanks for Ukraine to fight Russia\u2019s invasion<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany won\u2019t send or authorize the transfer of its modern Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine until the U.S. agrees to give its own, according to multiple reports. But U.S. officials say there are no plans to send American tanks, arguing the Abrams M1 has substantial maintenance and fuel needs that would make it too difficult for Ukraine to operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pentagon officials see modern Leopard 2s in the arsenals of Ukraine\u2019s European allies \u2013 and other armored vehicles recently pledged by the West<\/a> \u2013 as crucial tools for Ukraine to break the near-stalemated fighting and launch a counter offensive this spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already been working with Ukrainians on T-72s [tanks] and on other Soviet-era tanks,\u201d a senior Pentagon official said. \u201cWhat\u2019s facing them is the next step, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re looking at modern, mechanized armored capabilities. That\u2019s why the focus on tanks, and Germany is the key to that capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Poland and Finland have both offered to send German-built Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, subject to approval by Berlin, they\u2019re \u201cthe most immediate, accessible, usable capability,\u201d the senior defense official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Various versions of the Leopard 2 are in the arsenals of more than a dozen European countries. That means there is a common pool of spare parts as well as maintainers that could train Ukrainian forces on the weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austin is set to host a regular coordination meeting of top defense officials from Ukraine\u2019s Western allies<\/a> at the United States\u2019 Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday. Officials expect a group of ten or more countries will meet on the sidelines to focus on the Leopard 2 transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are very optimistic that we will make progress on this requirement by the end of the week,\u201d the senior defense official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a joint statement, the U.K., Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Slovakia, said that to ensure a Ukrainian battlefield victory in 2023, they would commit to collectively pursuing a combination of main battle tanks and other \u201cunprecedented\u201d weapons for Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe new level of required combat power is only achieved by combinations of main battle tank squadrons, beneath air and missile defense, operating alongside divisional artillery groups, and further deep precision fires enabling targeting of Russian logistics and command nodes in occupied territory,\u201d their statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German government, for its part, is expected to have figured out by the Ramstein meeting on Friday how to resolve a major conundrum that Scholz has created for Berlin: How to justify a potential change of heart and approve Leopards \u2013 either Germany\u2019s own or via other countries\u2019 export requests \u2013 when the chancellor has made his decision dependent on Washington doing the same?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking with reporters Wednesday, the Pentagon\u2019s undersecretary for policy, Colin Kahl, praised the Scholz government for its contributions so far, which include Marder infantry fighting vehicles and a Patriot battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he said there \u201cshouldn\u2019t be a concern\u201d about Germany being the only country to provide tanks after the UK agreed to send its Challenger 2s and France agreed to send its AMX-10, a \u201clight tank.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think if there was a concern about being alone in providing this capability, that shouldn\u2019t be a concern, but at the end of the day, the German government\u2019s going to make a sovereign decision,\u201d Kahl said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about the Abrams, Kahl reiterated that the Pentagon is opposed to sending it. He called the Abrams, \u201ca very complicated piece of equipment,\u201d and said its fuel and maintenance needs would make it a burden for Ukrainian forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\t