Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his nightly address: “…discussions need to end with decisions. Decisions to really strengthen our defense against terrorists. Our allies have the necessary number of tanks. When the necessary weight of decisions is reached, we will be happy to express gratitude for every weighty decision.” His words come in the wake of publications in the German Der Spiegel and the American The Wall Street Journal that Germany will deliver to Ukraine 14 Leopard 2 А6 tanks and the US – 30 Abrams tanks. This move, coming after the UK announced the delivery of 14 British Challenger 2 tanks, is an invitation to the remaining Western allies to also supply Ukraine with heavy weaponry.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kulebo wrote, on Facebook, that the EU was considering delivering F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine, citing his online correspondence with a counterpart from the EU. On 20 January, Netherlands Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra announced the country was considering delivering F-16s to Ukraine, as quoted by AFP.

The delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine will leave an “indelible mark” on Russian-German relations, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that relations with Germany were already at their lowest point and that there was no “substantive dialogue” with any other EU or NATO countries either.