along violet pass and re imagined galleys teachings for relevance to us. gandhi's legacy starts january 20th on d. w. ah . ah. this is dw news live from berlin, ukraine. we'll have to keep waiting for the german may tanks. it wants to spine please from kia germany did not give the go ahead to deliver advanced leopard two's at a meeting of 12 western military officials will get the latest from the gathering at ramstein airbase

ah a marin evans dean. thanks for joining me. western defense ministers and military officials meeting at the u. s. rom, shine air base in germany, have not reached a decision on the supply of leopard at 2 tanks to ukraine. poland defense ministers, as western allies, would soon hold talks on the issue. addressing the meeting via video link, ukraine's president of waterbury landscape made an impassioned plea to his allies to send more heavy weapons. pressure has been mounting at berlin to allow other countries such as poland and finland to send the german made a leper 2 tanks to ukraine or to deliver the heavily armed battle tanks themselves . the host of the gathering us defense secretary lloyd austin, stress than germany is a steadfast partner. they are

a reliable ally. they've been that way for, for a very, very long time. and i, i truly believe that they'll continue to be a reliable ally going forward. and not to mention they have germany is host to 39000 of my troops and their families and also 10000 civilians here. and so we've had a great relationship but throughout, over the years. and i will continue to have that a great relationship and germany will continue to exercise leadership going forward . as back a short time ago, did he deli is chief medical correspondent, he now has a who's been following that meeting at the ramstein base. but i thought was interesting was how and the u. s. defense secretary austin said that today was actually a very clear message that the west is united that are, they are resolved, remain committed to supporting ukraine for as long as it takes. they warned that

this war might drag on, and that day to day was a symbol also of unity or towards russia. and they said that essentially a buddha could end the war right now, but he's likely not going to do that. and so this is why that they said that lots of countries have made important pledges today that can help ukraine almost immediately on the battlefield. and they said that that was vital that now with all those donations that have come from allies, they now need to synchronize them so that ukraine can be given a can be turned into a fully operational, their capabilities that those donations can be turned into. fully operational cap capabilities that can make a difference on the battlefield. now if the u. s. defense secretary lloyd austin was disappointed because we didn't hear from the german government. whether they were going to give the green lights to the leopard, to deliveries those deliveries of those combat tanks that have put germany so much

in the spotlight in recent days and weeks. if he was disappointed, he was very good at hiding that. indeed, he and praised germany for the big deliveries that they have announced already of advent systems, for example, armored vehicles, et cetera. and, but this remains a topic that the coalition will continue to discuss. and he said that this contact group of nato allies in the west is essentially proving now that they remain committed and that they will sit together very closely in the next couple of days and weeks as well. so that ukraine is ready for when that offensive from russia comes that everybody's talking about where rushes regrouping so that ukraine can push back russia in this offensive. yeah, i was also emphasized by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, mark, milly, this notion of unity. and he even said that in his i think it was 43 years in uniform. this is the most united he'd ever seen nato. so nina, is this a sign of

a new kind of resolve when it comes to supporting ukraine? is this a turning point? this meeting and ramstein? i think they are hearing very clear warning signs from moscow, indeed that they are this regrouping. and the training that russia has announced for the spring offensive is to be taken seriously. and this is something that, of course, many allies in nato are very concerned about because they are so close just geographically speaking. and the baltic states, for example, and poland, which is why they're willing to throw a lot into ukraine right now. so that ukraine can hold its ground, that it can defend itself and other chairman also said that he doesn't expect ukraine to be able to push rash or out of its territory entirely by the end of the year. but that at least they might manage to claim back some of its territory. and

that, that was vital that now the west shows that it can support ukraine with a co ordinated military package. because of course, it doesn't help if ukraine gets lots of different tank system, for example, where there's no maintenance infrastructure in europe or it doesn't help if it gets lots of different vehicles that need different ammunition. this all needs to be coordinated and that's what's happening at the moment. now of course, all eyes are again on germany because it is a very difficult to explain to international partners, which is why the german government is so hesitant, but germany says it's not alone. in this reluctance to send those combat tangs. but they also said that there will be a decision whether it's a 2 to morrow or next week or in 2 weeks. that new defense minister said he doesn't know, but there will be a decision. and if it's positive that the german government will give it's ok to

delivering leopard 2 tanks to ukraine then. and he said he's ordered his ministry to take stock already of what is available now already is a very positive word in this context because of course you could wonder why didn't that happened last year. so the criticism of the german government is not going away, but officially, at least in the public sphere, the west is trying to show a very united picture here at ramstein. that was nina has a speaking earlier. while with all this, talk of german leverage to tang, let's now take a closer look at what makes this piece of combat hardware. so special name, it's the flagship of the german army, the leper to a heavily armed battle tank with superior firepower weighing close to 60 tons. it can hit targets at a distance of up to 5 kilometers and protect itself and other vehicles from all kinds of threats. while still being agile and easy to maneuver,

that's why it's widely regarded as the best of its kind. developed for the bond is there more than 40 years ago and built in germany, the leper too is now also used by many other countries, especially in europe. but also in canada, sheila cutter indonesia and elsewhere more than 3500 units, i used world wide by some 19 nations. overtime the tank was upgraded and adjusted for use and specific environments. so several different versions have emerged and not all of them are still up to date. refurbishing them to make them fit for combat in ukraine takes time. so even with a political decision made, it could take months until the leper to can make a difference on the front line. well, several of germany's allies say they are ready to deliver leverage tanks to ukraine . but they need berlin's permission to do that. i asked our correspondent, terry shelton, brussels. what would happen if they decided to do it?

without that consent? we don't know yet. in fact, poland has explicitly threatened to do this. they say that we are going to be sending our leopard two's to ukraine. we're basically with, or without berlin's consent. now, nobody actually wants it to happen this way because all countries feel it's important to, to follow the contractual law weapons producing countries want to be able to have some say over where their products end up. that's considered really a safety issue. and so i think that this, this threat from poland is really just to put even more pressure on germany. but even during the meeting today at ramstein, you saw reports that both the czech republic and slovakia, who have just ordered leopards from germany, say we're willing to send our shipments of leopard something like 30 of them straight to ukraine. so even if germany were to come to the decision that it didn't want to send its own leopards, it definitely is, is under a lot of scrutiny, a lot of pressure to allow other countries to do. so there are

a dozen countries that use the leopard. so clearly there would be some very willing contributors that was tara shells reporting from brussels. terry, thank you so much. we appreciate it. will dr. jayden glenn is an academic researcher, an author of the upcoming book rushes war. and i asked her if the kremlin and how the kremlin is likely to view germany's hesitation on supplying those battle tangs to ukraine. and the kremlin is no doubt a happy it makes their plans are anticipated. spring offensive, much easier and that it will, if you grade doesn't have enough time. and it leaves ukrainian truth vulnerable, of course, against against russian tanks and, and of course, the versions of killing an awful lot of ukrainian soldiers in the ukrainian population is only a thought of the size. so i think it's important to stress that one of the reasons you cream of the tanks is of course to you to take back charity. but it will say

for defensive reasons, you to, to say that the man, though that has of course, been a shift in coming rhetoric around around tongues recently as well. that appears to be a softening of that position. why do you believe there is so much irritation being directed ad germany when it is, in fact, one of the biggest contributors of military aid to ukraine? that's an important point. gemini has provided an awful lot of military aid, actually around the same amount as britain. and yet it's clear that there are, if you can a sticky difficulties with, with the perception and certainly a difference in perception in ukraine. and i think there are a few reasons for this. i think 1st and foremost, it's been that there's a perceived that there's a sort of dragging of the feet. and certain public statements by some german officials have given the impression that germany doesn't really want to, to help. and i think this is unfair, but it also is reflective of

a broader lack of germans of power in ukraine in recent years, due to north stream too. and the perceived closeness of some german and rushing business leads since 2014 and the 1st invasion. and finally, i think there's a frustration that germany could perhaps be swayed in his decisions by need to ponder to russia. in recent days, we've seen mosque you talking about german tanks on russian territory, which of course placed the domestic audience and the very strong willed board to cope. and that exists in russian society. but of course it was a place to germany's walk out. and although it sounds like the politics of symbolism, ukrainians, you feel that they have forgotten sometimes of german. we'll go, this really matters. and as we know, this is a war. now today that's very much wanted by the ghosts of complex past. while it does appear,

the western countries are more ready now than ever to send heavy weapons to ukraine . and for its part, the kremlin said that these types of tanks would not change the course of the conflict. anna was also warning that the west would regret what it calls its delusion that ukraine could win on the battle field. what do you make of these threats? so this uneasy combination of a threats and then backing down and we've seen these sorts of shifts before where the criminal threatens this and not. and then it back downs, a river, sweden and finland applying to nate or high mars or air defense systems or ukraine . we're taking territory, i would caution anybody from rushing to interpret this clearly as if russian talk is or bluster. i think that it's important to say share strength and unity. and that came across very strongly in lloyd austin's press conference idea. but it was a to tread carefully and i think that you created with allies have done quite well

here. they slowly increase the support provided to you grain quite gradually so that it doesn't appear as escalator is perhaps actually is when you look when you take a step back and look at the increase in the technical capabilities of what is now being provided to ukraine and i think of course as well the u. s. m. a ticket has worked closely with china and india to, to pressure between dissuade him from, from considering the nuclear option. you know, part of me even wanted is if maybe when the war is over and i can, we can access the archives and probably when i'm very old. so if germany fairly robust support, in fact, which is combined reverse sort of rhetoric of, of not want foot dragging or not. that doesn't turn out to be a deliberate strategy or part of a sort of piece to avoid escalation while still supporting ukraine. dr. jade mclinn

. thank you so much for all of your insights. you're watching dw news. a quick reminder of our top story. western defense officials meeting in germany have failed to reach an agreement on delivering german made battle tags to ukraine. cave had been pleading for berlin to green light, the delivery of its advanced leverage to tanks, a german defense ministers that his country was still weighing up the decision that the latest on day to will you news at this hour, a marion evans, teams from me and the entire news team, thanks for watching ah luggable in what people have to say matters to us. ah, that's why.