Defence ministers from the Baltic states, Poland, and the United Kingdom will meet in Estonia “to mount a final attempt to put pressure on Germany” to authorise sending tanks to Ukraine, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.
The ministers will meet on Thursday, a day before some 50 defence ministers will gather in Ramstein, Germany, to discuss future weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Defence sources told the Guardian the meeting in Estonia aims to “encourage the Germans” to announce tank deliveries to Ukraine if no decision is taken before then. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak at the Davos summit later on Wednesday.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace earlier dubbed countries willing to send Ukraine the German-made Leopard 2 tanks as the “Leopard coalition”. Berlin’s approval is needed for any shipments to Ukraine as the tanks are manufactured in Germany.
Read more: We are witnessing a ‘turning point’ in Germany, says Lithuanian president
During their visit to Ukraine earlier this month, the presidents of Lithuania and Poland called on Germany to deliver tanks to Ukraine.
According to the Guardian, there are over 2,300 Leopard 2 tanks in storage across Europe, including in countries like Poland and Finland which said they would be willing to send the tanks to Ukraine.
Earlier, the United Kingdom pledged to send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
