During a visit to Lisbon on Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa confirmed that they want to continue cooperating in military support for Ukraine.
Scholz called the joint supply of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine a "visible sign" of the good cooperation between the two countries, while Costa said his country was ready to continue military support for Ukraine together with Germany "within the limits of [their] possibilities ... but without diminishing [their] defence capabilities."
Portugal was the first country to make a commitment to Germany to equip a Ukrainian battalion with Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks. Germany has now delivered 18 of these tanks, Portugal three.
In January, the German government had only agreed to forge an alliance to supply the German-made Leopard 2s after much hesitation.
The German chancellor does not consider further leaps in the quality of arms deliveries necessary, also in view of a possible spring offensive by the Ukrainian armed forces. "What is needed now is essentially more of the same," Scholz said.
He named above all anti-aircraft systems, but also battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, as well as the ammunition required for them. "That will certainly be the focus of what we have to do in the future as well to ensure this long endurance," Scholz said, adding that one must be prepared "that it can take a long time."
