Day 334: Poland to Ask Germany for Permission to Re-Export Leopard Tanks to Ukraine

Facts

• Poland will formally ask Germany for permission to re-export its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday.
• After days of mounting pressure on Germany over transfers of the vehicles, Morawiecki added that Poland is building a coalition of countries that are prepared to send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine, and said a decision may be made to re-export them even if Germany declines to grant permission.
• "We will ask [Germany] for permission, but this is a secondary theme," Morawiecki said. "Even if, eventually, we do not get this permission," he continued, "we will hand over our tanks, together with the others, to Ukraine."
• Nonetheless, Morawiecki's remarks come after Germany's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, stated on Sunday that, "if we were asked" by Poland for approval to send the tanks, "we would not stand in the way."
• Elsewhere on Sunday, in his nightly address, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to crackdown on corruption in his country after Vasyl Lozynskyi, the deputy minister for community development, was arrested over the weekend for allegedly receiving $400K in bribes during the purchase of generators.
• Zelenskyy also said he will shortly announce a series of "powerful necessary steps" in response to revelations of alleged bribery. "Let me be clear," he said, "this is not going back to how it was before, whether you are close to state institutions or have spent your life chasing a chair."
• Meanwhile, on the ground, Ukrainian officials reported that one civilian was killed and one was injured in the Kharkiv region. Four civilians were reportedly injured in Donetsk, and one in Zaporizhzhia, while a further three were injured in Kherson. Pro-Russia officials said one civilian was killed in Ukrainian attacks on Luhansk for the same time period.

Sources: Associated Press, Ukrinform, and Pravda.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Guardian. Germany — which has a unique historical responsibility to uphold the sovereignty and freedom of Ukraine — must consent to the use of Leopard 2 tanks by Kyiv. Ukrainians were some of the greatest victims of Hitler and Stalin, and Berlin now has the opportunity to intercede on Putin's war of terror against an innocent people. The whole of the West will judge the courage of Germany on whether it allows tanks to be sent to Kyiv.If Germany has truly learned from its history, it will send tanks to defend Ukraine
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. Countries that are sending more and more advanced weaponry to Ukraine — be they Germany or another nation — are becoming increasingly intertwined in this conflict which aims to bring the strategic collapse of Russia. Ultimately, it's the Ukrainian people who will pay the highest price for the miscalculation by Western nations.

Predictions