Allies bolster Ukraine with more weapons pledges; but no sign of US, German tank agreement

KYIV/BERLIN: Western allies pledged billions of dollars in new weapons for Ukraine on Thursday , but the question of whether they would also send German-made tanks remained unanswered, with Berlin yet to signal whether it would lift a veto.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the new German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius met in Berlin, but there was no word on any progress ahead of a meeting of dozens of allies on Friday at Ramstein, Washington's main European air base. A German government source said Berlin had yet to receive a request from any country for permission to re-export the tanks. The Leopard 2 tanks - workhorse of militaries across Europe and which Germany made in the thousands during the Cold War - are the only suitable option available in big enough numbers according to some Western allies.

Austin described Germany as one of Washington's closest allies and thanked it for its support for Ukraine so far. "The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war," Medvedev said."Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends." "The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It's expensive. It's hard to train on. It has a jet engine."Davos 2023: Netherlands finalising Patriot system plan for Ukraine, to announce more support

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