Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday defended the decision by the German government to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
He said that in providing military support to Ukraine, Germany was acting according to the principle of making possible what was necessary while avoiding an escalation into a confrontation between NATO and Russia. "We will continue to observe this principle," he said.
Scholz rejected accusations that Germany had done too little to provide military support to Ukraine. "Germany will always be out in front when it comes to supporting Ukraine," he said. According to him, Germany, together with Britain, is the largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US.
The government had announced on Wednesday morning that Ukraine would receive 14 Leopard 2 main battle tanks from Bundeswehr stocks. Together with allies, a total of about 90 Leopard tanks are to be sent to Ukraine to support the country in its defensive struggle against Russia.
