Global Indecision Killing More Of Our People, Says Ukraine

Around 50 nations agreed on Friday to provide Kyiv with billions of dollars worth of military hardware, including armoured vehicles and munitions needed to push back Russian forces, AFP reported.

Ukrainian soldiers take part in military drills in Donetsk region, on January 21, 2023, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

Source : AFP

Ukraine slammed its allies on Saturday for "global indecision" after Germany refused to deliver its vaunted Leopard tanks to enhance Kyiv's battle capabilities in the nearly year-long conflict with Russia.

Around 50 nations agreed on Friday to provide Kyiv with billions of dollars worth of military hardware, including armoured vehicles and munitions needed to push back Russian forces, the news agency AFP reported.

But German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that despite heightened expectations, "We still cannot say when a decision will be taken, and what the decision will be, when it comes to the Leopard tank."

Taking to Twitter, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote, "Today's indecision is killing more of our people."

"Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster," he said.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the foreign ministers of the three Baltic states- Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania- urged Germany "to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now," AFP reported.

"This is needed to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and restore peace in Europe quickly," said a message tweeted by Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics and his Estonian and Lithuanian counterparts.

"Germany as the leading European power has special responsibility in this regard," they added.

Berlin has been hesitant to send the Leopards or allow other nations to transfer them to Kyiv.

According to AFP, reports earlier in the week indicated Germany would agree to do so only if the US provided its tanks as well. Washington has said providing its Abrams tanks to Ukraine is not feasible, citing difficulties in training and maintenance.

But expectations had grown ahead of Friday's Ukraine Contact Group meeting of around 50 US-led countries that Germany would at least agree to let other countries operating Leopards transfer them to Kyiv's army.

The pleas came as the Russian army said its troops had launched an offensive in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting intensified this week after several months of an almost frozen front.

Ukraine's defence ministry reported 26 air strikes and 15 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems Saturday.

"The enemy does not abandon its aggressive plans, focusing its main efforts on attempts to fully occupy the Donetsk region," on Ukraine's border with Russia, it said.