AGDUS equipped Leopard 2 A5 tank. Image by Boevaya mashina

After refusing to send tanks to Ukraine since at least July 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz succumbed to huge international pressure from his allies on 25 January 2023 and  finally agreed to send German-built Leopard 2 tanks. He will also allow other countries to do so.

This followed the recent decision by the UK to send its own tanks and expectations that the United States will shortly follow suit.

Ukraine’s defence minister says he needs 300 tanks and significant numbers of infantry fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers in order to defeat Russia, which is widely believed to be planning a spring offensive.