Conspiracy Cafe

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has agreed to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks, according to media reports, after weeks of mounting pressure on Berlin to give Kyiv the heavier weapons it says it needs to drive back invading Russian forces.

The news that Berlin will provide battle tanks to Kyiv comes as officials in the United States told media that Washington was also poised to start a process that would eventually send dozens of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine’s front lines.

A US government source told Al Jazeera there would be an announcement at the White House on Wednesday regarding the provision of the Abrams. A source familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency that the US commitment could total about 30 Abrams to be delivered over the coming months.

Berlin has also granted other countries, such as Poland and Finland, the licence to re-export their stocks of German-made tanks to Ukraine, German media reported on Tuesday citing unnamed government sources. Countries that buy military weapons from Germany are generally required to obtain permission from Berlin before re-exporting those weapons to another country.

The Spiegel media outlet, which first reported the news of Scholz agreeing to provide tanks to Ukraine, said Germany would provide at least one company of Leopard 2A6 tanks out of the German army’s — the Bundeswehr’s — stocks. Generally, equipping a company means handing over more than 14 tanks.

There was no official comment from the German government.

The Kremlin has said supplying tanks to Ukraine would not change matters and that the West would regret its “delusion” that Kyiv could win on the battlefield against Russia.

Russia’s ambassador to the US said the possible delivery of Abrams tanks to Kyiv by Washington would be “another blatant provocation” against Moscow.

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Russia is preparing for a general mobilization. Up to 20 million men can be called to servive in what the Russians term Barbarossa 2 after the German invasion in WWII. 

It doesn't matter how hard you row if you're rowing in the wrong direction. The Doomsday Clock was just advanced, but not far enough it seems.