Poland Threatens To Send Leopard Tanks To Ukraine Despite German Doubts

Poland has stepped up pressure on Berlin over arms to Ukraine, saying it would send German-made Leopard tanks to Kyiv if other countries did the same.

- Alastair Jamieson

President Volodymyr Zelensky's government wants the widely-used tanks to help it break through Russian lines and recapture territory.

But Germany, which must approve re-exports of the Leopard, has held back, wary of moves that could cause Moscow to escalate, and says other Nato nations have yet to formally seek permission to supply Kyiv. EU foreign ministers yesterday agreed to allocate another £440m worth of military aid for Ukraine, along with a further £30m for "non-lethal equipment" for military training of Ukraine, Swedish and Czech officials.

Meanwhile, Russia and Estonia expelled ambassadors from each other's countries in a deepening row over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and Latvia said it would downgrade its own diplomatic relations with Russia to support its Baltic neighbour. At yesterday's EU talks in Brussels, the issue of battle tanks dominated discussions.