Kyiv has long asked for it, but now French President Macron has promised his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy the delivery of AMX-10 RC light tanks. Number and date are still unclear. Chancellor Scholz, on the other hand, sticks to his no.
France wants to deliver “light battle tanks” to Ukraine. The French head of state Emmanuel Macron promised his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Zelenskyj that, the Élysée Palace said after a phone call between the two presidents. The tank is said to be the AMX-10 RC scout tank. The wheeled tank with cannon is mainly used for reconnaissance. How many tanks France wants to hand over to Ukraine by when was initially unclear.
“It is the first time that Western-style tanks have been delivered to the Ukrainian armed forces,” French media reports quoted the Elysee Palace as saying. Zelenskyj thanked Macron on Twitter for the decision. It was also decided to continue working together, for example to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses. France wanted to announce more details about the tank deliveries to Ukraine later. As part of a so-called ring exchange, Ukraine has already received Soviet-designed main battle tanks from Eastern European countries, among others. As part of an exchange of rings agreed with Germany, Slovakia handed over 30 Soviet BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine at the end of November. In return, Germany will deliver 15 Leopard 2 A4 main battle tanks to Slovakia.
Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, again accused the Chancellery of blocking tank deliveries to Ukraine. Many European countries have already offered to get the Leopard II delivered together, the FDP politician told the broadcasters RTL and ntv. In doing so, she countered warnings from Chancellor Olaf Scholz about an alleged German going it alone. However, the federal government must allow deliveries of Leopard tanks “because it is a German tank that is also manufactured here,” Strack-Zimmermann continued. “That hasn’t happened to date,” she accused the Chancellery.
The FDP politician did not accept the argument from the Chancellery that arms deliveries should only be decided together with the partner countries. “Nobody would have a problem with us doing it,” she said in the interview. The tank deliveries would be “urgently necessary” for Ukraine. Vice-government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner reiterated the warning against “German going it alone” in the afternoon. He went on to say in Berlin: “We do what helps Ukraine, what is necessary.” At the same time, the federal government is doing “everything to ensure that NATO and Germany are not involved in this war.”
