The German government has previously confirmed that it will send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and issue permission to other countries to re-export these vehicles.KIEV, January 30.
/tass/. Germany could transfer 10 times more Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine than the promised 14, Deputy Foreign Minister of the country, former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk said in an interview with the Ukrainian TV channel Rada on Monday.
"It's not enough to give 14 Leopard and then say that it's okay now, we have fulfilled our moral duty to the Ukrainians, you can sleep peacefully. I speak for 14 [tanks] thanks. But your industry can send at least 10 times more," he said, addressing the German authorities.
Melnik was removed from the post of ambassador to Germany in July last year, but continued to work in the country until early October. The reasons for his resignation were not reported, but the Ukrainian media linked it with numerous scandals in which he got into because of his statements that were not always permissible for a diplomat. He often criticized Berlin for insufficient, in his opinion, assistance to Ukraine. Recently, in an interview with the editorial association Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, he called on the German authorities to provide Kiev with all possible types of weapons, including aircraft, tanks, warships, submarines and ballistic missiles.
On January 25, the German government confirmed that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and give other countries permission to re-export these vehicles. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Leopard 2 will be sent to Ukraine "by the end of March." The intention to transfer tanks to Kiev was also reported in the defense departments of Norway and Slovakia, and earlier the decision to provide tanks to Ukraine was announced by the authorities of Great Britain, Poland and France.