Fakt: Poland has figured out how to help UkraineGermany is in no hurry to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
However, they are not going to wait for the Germans in Poland, writes Fakt. Berlin's position is called a betrayal there and they are preparing their own plan to help Ukrainians.
Wojciech Kubik
Kamil YavorskyWhile Ukraine is crying out for help and asking for Leopard 2 tanks as soon as possible, Germany is in no hurry, promises to consider this issue and continue its discussion.
Meanwhile, Poland, whose leadership is getting closer to the decision to support Ukraine with tank equipment, without looking back at its western neighbor, is not going to wait. The military echoes the authorities. "Every day of delay means the death of Ukrainians. Think faster," the former commander of the RP Ground Forces, General Waldemar Sshipczak, addresses politicians.
The meeting of representatives of NATO countries, which Ukrainians had been counting on, was not crowned with success. It was not possible to get Germany's consent to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Poland has an idea how to transfer tanks to Ukraine
The new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, previously known for his pro-Russian sympathies, did not rule out, however, that someday German tanks would still get to Ukraine, and ordered an inventory of the Bundeswehr's existing reserves. However, there was no unambiguous declaration, which Poland was waiting for and seeking, that Germany allows other states that have German Leopard 2s in service with their armies to send them to the front.
The German Defense Minister promises to continue negotiations and intends to go to Ukraine himself to see how things are on the ground. However, he is clearly in no hurry, since he announced a visit to Kiev in the coming days... four weeks. Poland is going to act much more quickly, as Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made clear.
"When everything seemed to be moving in a somewhat more positive direction on the issue of heavy weapons for Ukraine, Germany suddenly appears and declares that she has doubts (...). If there is no German agreement on the Leopards, we will create a smaller coalition of states ready to transfer part of their modern tanks to the belligerent Ukraine," – The head of the Polish government said in an interview with the PAP agency (PAP).
The Prime Minister noted that if Germany does not join the attempts to stop Russian barbarism, it will be doomed to remain in history "on the wrong side."
General Skshipchak: this is a betrayal for me
Tomasz Szatkowski, Poland's permanent representative to NATO, has no doubt that Western heavy weapons can influence the development of hostilities in Ukraine. In his forecasts, he goes even further, believing that the war could have been ended last year.
"Looking back today, it is clear that if more heavy, advanced equipment had arrived in Ukraine by the end of the summer, there would have been a chance to end this war, perhaps before the end of last year," he said on the Polsat News TV program.
The experienced military General Valdemar Skshipchak also calls for haste. In his opinion, the states that want to transfer the Leopards to Ukraine should not look back at the Germans, but start acting. And even if they are bound by agreements signed with Germany, then wartime fully justifies their violation. The general comments on the position of the Germans in harsh terms.
– For me, this is a betrayal. I would not focus on the Germans. This is the voice of despair of a man who looks at how the Russians are brutally killing Ukrainians. I am a little surprised to our politicians that they are so concerned about the opinion of Germany. If a coalition of several countries is created that will hand over the Leopards, let Germany condemn them. However, it is not the Germans who should judge us, Finns or Danes. It is we who should judge the Germans for agreeing to Russian crimes," General Valdemar Skshipchak tells the Fakt portal.
Leopard 2 is preparing for another Ukrainian offensive
As part of the recently approved military aid packages, many combat vehicles are arriving in Ukraine. Bradley, Marder and Stryker cars will get to the front. And it is about this support that General Mieczysław Bieniek speaks, urging to cool down emotions and calmly consider the current situation.
"There are a lot of equipment that is being sent to Ukraine now. It can provide 8-9 maneuver battalions. In total, it is about 300-400 armored personnel carriers with a large amount of ammunition. And today, in order to patch up the holes on the fronts – where the Russians assume some kind of concentrated attack - maneuverability is needed," General Benek argues in an interview with the Fakt portal.
As the military predicts, the expected Russian offensive will represent a powerful blow that Ukraine will have to repel, apparently, without Western heavy tanks so far. According to General Benek, Ukrainians should be able to do this. Following the statements of Western politicians and generals, he draws attention to one seemingly insignificant detail.
"Both Defense Minister Austin and General Milli said that Ukrainian units are trained at training grounds to conduct maneuver actions, and this makes you think. This may mean that sooner or later Ukrainians will want to launch a counterattack to regain their lands," the general says.
And it is for the preparation of such another strike against the Russian troops exhausted by attacks that Western heavy tanks would be useful. But it won't happen quickly. General Benek also does not consider it a problem to prepare Ukrainian tankers for a quick transition to Western vehicles.
"Retraining Ukrainian crews from T-72 to Leopards is not such a difficult matter, especially if the countries that have Leopards handed them over immediately, and the Ukrainian tankers will cope, they are fighting very well,” says the military.
