Poland slams “unacceptable German attitude” on Ukraine and aims to build own tank coalition

Poland has stepped up its criticism of Germany’s apparent reluctance to permit the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, calling it “unacceptable” and warning that Warsaw could build a separate coalition of countries who are not willing to “passively watch Ukraine bleed to death”.

The German foreign minister, however, claims there has not been a specific request to transfer tanks and added that Berlin “would not stand in the way” if there was one.

In an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP) published on Sunday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was asked about Germany’s ongoing hesitation over the transfer of tanks.

“Germany’s attitude is unacceptable,” he said. “Germany needs to open its eyes and start acting…Above all, however, Berlin should not weaken or sabotage the actions of other countries.”

“The enemy is in the east, and we are wasting our time on discussions,” continued Morawiecki, referring to ongoing talks over the tanks. Because the Leopards are German-made, countries that wish to send them to Ukraine require Berlin’s consent.

Asked why he thinks Germany is proving so reluctant to grant permission, the Polish prime minister repeated remarks he made to CNN last week in which he accused German politicians of being “still embedded in a previous era” when they had seen Russia as a partner.

“This policy went bankrupt, and the Germans still find it hard to admit they were wrong,” said Morawiecki.

He also warned that, if Germany remains unwilling to allow tanks to be transferred to Ukraine, “we will build a smaller coalition of countries ready to donate some of their modern equipment”.

“We will not passively watch Ukraine bleed to death,” Morawiecki added. “The Ukrainian people are fighting for our freedom…The decision to support Ukraine is justified both politically and morally.”

“I hope the Germans will understand this sooner rather than later,” he concluded. “Ukraine and Europe will win this war, with or without Germany. It is up to Germany whether they want to join the mission to stop Russian barbarism or whether they will…be on the wrong side of history.”

However, asked by France’s LCI TV on Sunday about what would happen if Poland sent tanks without Berlin’s approval, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said “for the moment the question has not been asked, but if we were asked we would not stand in the way”, reports Reuters.

“We know how important these tanks are and this is why we are discussing this now with our partners,” she added, in quotes carried by Deutsche Welle. “We need to make sure people’s lives are saved and Ukraine’s territory liberated.”

That followed remarks on Friday by new German defence minister Boris Pistorius, who said that “the impression that has occasionally arisen, that there is a closed coalition and Germany was standing in the way, this impression is wrong”.

However, he also said that there are “pros and cons” regarding sending tanks to Ukraine that “must be weighed very carefully”, reports Reuters.

In his comments to PAP yesterday, Morawiecki referred to those words, saying: “Since Minister Pistorius denies that Germany is blocking the supply of tanks to Ukraine, I would like to hear a clear declaration that Berlin supports sending them, that Germany is considering joining the coalition of countries that will send them.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, on Sunday told Voice of America that Ukrainian troops will begin training in Poland in the use of Leopard tanks even though Germany has not yet granted permission for their transfer.

Main image credit: NATO/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.