Key Takeaways:
- The Untied States continues to be committed to supporting Ukraine against Russia
- The US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group has pledged to increase military assistance to Kyiv
- Germany, meanwhile, has refused to allow Ukraine to receive its modern Leopard-2 tanks
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The United States has once again reiterated that it will support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.” In his opening remarks at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged to continue backing Kyiv as it fights against the nearly year-long Russian aggression. Germany, however, is yet to give the green light on the much-coveted Leopard-2 tanks that Ukraine has been eyeing.
“This is a decisive moment for Ukraine in a decisive decade for the world, so make no mistake we will support Ukraine self-defense for as long as it takes,”
Austin said in his speech at the meeting in Germany.
The United States air base in Ramstein hosted the meeting. This was the third Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting held at the base. The America-led initiative is designed to coordinate support for Ukraine and includes defense ministers and chiefs of defense from around the world.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also attended the meeting. He welcomed the deliberations and the willingness of the participants to do more to “enable Ukraine to win & retake occupied territory“.
Lloyd Austin took a page out of Joe Biden’s book
The statement by the U.S. Secretary of Defense is almost an exact repeat of what US President Joe Biden said last June. During the 2022 Madrid summit with the heads of state and heads of government of NATO members and partner countries, Biden had also pledgedto continue supporting Ukraine for “as long as it takes” to make sure it is victorious.
During the meeting in Ramstein, Lloyd Austin also urged partner countries and western allies to “dig deeper” to support Kyiv with military aid. He took the floor to announce that the U.S. Government has allocated an additional $2.5 billion to provide military assistance to Ukraine.
In a video address to the participants, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his allies to speed up weapon supplies. He also thanked the United States for the new aid package, claiming the weapons would be “important help in our fight against the aggressor“.
However, the Biden Administrations’ determination to stand by Ukraine could have political implications at home. The U.S. Government has already reached its debt ceiling and is on the verge of default. The Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, are already demanding cuts in government spending.
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Germany has yet to agree to give tanks to Ukraine
Although the meeting of the Defense Contact Group was successful, it didn’t result in a total victory for Ukraine. The attendees reached a broad consensus that they should send more military aid. However, Kyiv was hoping that Germany would give the much-needed green light for it to get the German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
While Ukraine has received several high-grade arsenals, the German tanks are considered ultra-modern, easy to maintain, and more suitable to stop Russian advancement. President Zelenskyy has been pushing for these for quite some time now, so far, without success.
It is estimated that there are around 2,000 Leopards in Europe. However, they cannot go to Ukraine without German permission. Berlin has come under a lot of pressure to allow Ukraine to receive them. Some countries, such as Poland and Finland, have announced that they are willing to donate Leopards to Ukraine.
However, Germany has allegedly said they will only allow Leopards to go to Ukraine if they are a part of a wider NATO package deal. This package, Berlin insists, should also include the American M1 Abrams tanks.
“If America will decide that they will bring battle tanks to Ukraine, that will make it easier for Germany,”
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck told Bloomberg from Davos on Tuesday.
Washington, meanwhile, is not ready to send M1 Abrams. It has brought various excuses for its decision, mostly related to maintenance costs.
The issue has caused a standoff between Germany and the United States. Berlin does not seem to trust that Washington will unconditionally throw its weight behind them should the war spill over beyond Ukraine. Moreover, ‘German tanks vs Russian tanks’ comes with historical connotations which Germany does not like.
