Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Another country, this time Slovakia, does not want tanks from Germany


 The Germans offered Slovakia only 15 Leopard 2A4 tanks in return for 30 T-72 tanks that could be delivered to Ukraine, which is why Bratislava rejected the offer, writes Business Insider. Berlin's stance is detrimental to allied credibility and may be interpreted by Russia as a signal of weakness.

Slovakia refused to accept Leopard 2A4 tanks from Germany in exchange for T-72 tanks that could be sent to Ukraine for a simple reason, the Germans offered only 15 Leopard 2A4 tanks for 30 T-72s given to Ukraine. To complete the only Slovak tank battalion, you need at least 30 tanks.

Slovakia is another country that disagreed with Berlin on the replacement of military equipment handed over to Kyiv. Poland also asked to supplement the Armored Forces with Leopard 2A4 tanks, which the German army no longer uses, after delivering a large part of over 200 of its T-72 tanks to Ukraine. The talks failed because, Germany claims, Poland wanted the most advanced version of the tank, which even the German army didn't have yet. It's hard to believe that claim because Poland already has 2A4s and 2A5s with full support but no 2A7s.

So far, the only country that has agreed with Germany on the "exchange" of tanks is the Czech Republic on the delivery of 15 Leopard 2A4s. However, it is linked to Czechia's plan to purchase up to 50 Leopard 2A7s.

Germany's attitude is detrimental to their allied credibility. On the one hand, Germany provides limited military support to Ukraine. On the other, it refuses to transfer armored and mechanized equipment, even those already withdrawn from service. Russia may consider this a weakness and an "invitation" to further escalate the conflict.