Ukrainian deputy minister dismissed for alleged embezzlement

Germany has not received a request from Poland or any other country for permission to transfer the German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a government spokesman said Monday.

“To this hour we have not received a request,“ Steffen Hebestreit told a news conference. “And if they ask, then there is a certain procedure. I can’t tell you whether that will take a few days or several months.“

He promised that any application would be “processed with the necessary speed that is required, but of course also with the necessary thoroughness that such procedures demand.” 

Poland is one of 13 European countries with German Leopard 2 tanks in its inventory, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

It has offered to send them to Ukraine and is trying to convince other countries to do the same, but Germany’s permission is typically required to re-export them.

On Sunday, the Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieckic said that Europe was “wasting time” on the discussions.

However Hebestreit defended Berlin against such accusations.

“Maybe it’s good to weigh and consider a lot of things before you go recklessly into a step that you bitterly regret later,“ he said, adding that other countries, such as Spain, also have qualms about the potential tank transfer.

The Polish government will send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine if it manages to “build at least… a small coalition of states” who would do the same, according to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. 

If that “condition” is met, Poland would be willing to transfer the German-made tanks with or without Berlin’s approval, Morawiecki told reporters. Any transfer of Leopard 2 tanks would typically require permission from Germany.

“We will apply for such consent, but this is a secondary topic,” Morawiecki said.

“Even if we do not get this consent in the end, as part of a small coalition – (and even if) the Germans were not in this coalition – we will still hand over our tanks, together with others, to Ukraine,” he added.

“The condition for us at the moment is to build at least such a small coalition of states and on this issue… we are contacting our partners in Western Europe.” 

Ukraine’s repeated calls for more tanks have been the subject of high-level diplomatic talks in recent weeks, and Germany has so far resisted the increasing pressure to authorize a tank transfer.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the situation in Ukraine with South African officials during a visit to the country, he said Monday.

“Upon the request from my colleagues, we have discussed in detail the course of the special military operation in Ukraine, which is aimed at saving civilians and preventing the creation of direct threats to Russian security near our border,” Lavrov said, using the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war in Ukraine.

“And that is something that the US and NATO allies have been doing for years,” Lavrov added during a joint news conference with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor in Pretoria 

Lavrov said he believes the talks with his South African colleagues “have been very fruitful,” without providing more details about the discussions on Ukraine.

Russia, South Africa and China are set to take part in joint naval drills which are scheduled for next month. 

It is “too early” to talk about a potential 2024 election bid for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“The president has not made any statements in this regard,” Peskov told reporters Monday when asked whether Putin was seeking to run in the next election.

“Work continues as part of the president’s regular routine schedule,” he added.

Asked if the Kremlin has already started preparing for the campaign, Peskov said it is “too early” to talk about it as the Kremlin has “a lot of current affairs.”

Putin has “a very active schedule and a busy agenda,” he added.

In 2021, Putin signed constitutional amendments into law which would allow him to seek two more six-year terms when his current presidency ends in 2024.

Russia has downgraded its diplomatic relations with Estonia and expelled the country’s ambassador over allegations of “Russophobia.” 

The move comes after Estonia hosted a meeting of Western defense officials in its capital city Tallinn last week to pledge further military support to Ukraine. 

It accused Tallinn of elevating “blanket Russophobia” and the “cultivation of hostility” to the “level of state policy.”

Moscow also accused Estonia of forcing it to reduce the number of staff at the Russian embassy in Tallinn. 

Estonian ambassador Margus Laidre was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry on Monday, and “was presented with a statement of resolute protest against the actions of the Estonian authorities.”

Laidre is due to leave the Russian Federation on February 7.

“The Estonian side must bear full responsibility for this turn of events in the relations between Russia and Estonia,” said the ministry. “We will continue to respond to hostile actions on the part of the Estonian leadership.”  

Estonia has been part of a group of NATO allies arguing strongly for Germany to provide its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine to help Kyiv fight off Russia’s invasion. 

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that each meeting at the US Ramstein Air Base develops the trust that Ukraine’s allies have in Kyiv, following the summit there on Friday.

“Back home after Ramstein 8. With each meeting, I see how our partners’ trust in Ukraine grows. This is all due to the hard work of our soldiers and representatives,” Reznikov tweeted.

“More trust means more weapons. To protect our land, sea… and sky,” he said, adding that the next meeting at the US base in Germany will take place in February.

Leaders failed to reach an agreement Friday on the issue of sending German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite growing pressure on Berlin from NATO and Kyiv to step up its military aid ahead of a potential Russian spring offensive.

The Kremlin has said that Ukraine will bear the consequences if third countries supply it with tanks, amid growing pressure on Germany to dispatch advanced weaponry to Kyiv.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned the ongoing debate over sending German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine suggests that the “nervousness among the members of the alliance is constantly growing.” 

“All the countries that directly or indirectly take part in the pumping [of Ukraine] with weapons and in raising their technological level, are all responsible for it,” Peskov said Monday.

Some context: Berlin has been under fire for failing to reach an agreement with its key Western allies to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Sunday that Germany would not stop Poland from sending Leopard 2 combat tanks to Ukraine if asked.

Russia previously warned of further escalation if more weapons were sent into Ukraine that will allow strikes on the Russian territory, saying it will “mean bringing the conflict to a new level.”

There is still no date set for discussions between the United States and Russia on the New START nuclear arms treaty, which is the only agreement left regulating the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters he blamed what he described as the “escalating trend in both actions and rhetoric on the part of the United States,” according to the TASS news agency. 

The New START Treaty limits all deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons by Russia and the US. It was last extended in early 2021 for five years, during the first weeks of President Joe Biden’s term in office. It requires both countries to allow on-site inspections of its nuclear weapons-related facilities by the other.

Poland’s prime minister has said his government will build coalition of countries ready to donate modern tanks and other equipment to Ukraine, as he criticized Germany for “wasting time” on the issue of sending advanced weaponry to Kyiv.

“We will build a smaller coalition of states ready to donate some of their modern equipment, modern tanks to Ukraine. We will not passively watch Ukraine bleed to death,” he said Sunday. 

Morawiecki added that Berlin’s “attitude” towards transferring German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine was “unacceptable.”  

“Germany is a powerful country in terms of its economy and military strength… I will say it bluntly. Ukraine and Europe will win this war – with or without Germany. However, it is up to Germany whether they want to join the mission of stopping Russia’s barbarism, or whether they will watch it passively, dooming themselves to being recorded on the wrong side of history.”

Some context: Western leaders have put increased pressure on Germany to dispatch Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, after President Volodymyr Zelensky called on allies to help bolster Ukrainian defense against Russia’s invasion.

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Sunday “there will be a decision soon” on whether Berlin would transfer the tanks.