Send your tanks now, Scholz tells allies

Allies who can deliver battle tanks to Ukraine should now do so, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday, adding that Germany would facilitate this decision by providing logistics and stock replenishment and by training Ukrainian soldiers.

"For me, that is an example of the kind of leadership people can expect from Germany," Scholz said at the Munich Security Conference according to a transcript of his speech.

Amid mounting international pressure last month, the German government announced the planned delivery of modern Leopard 2 tanks from army stocks to help Ukraine fend off invading Russian troops.

It is still waiting on some European partners to follow up with their own pledges, despite being originally the country accused of being a laggard over concerns of potentially escalating the conflict.

Germany is Ukraine's biggest military supporter in continental Europe, Scholz said at the annual gathering in Munich of top politicians, diplomats, military officers and defence industry chiefs.

The country will continue to maintain a balance between support for Kyiv and avoiding escalation, he said.