BERLIN -- Germany faced mounting pressure to supply battle tanks to Kyiv and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy aired frustration about not obtaining enough weaponry as Western allies conferred Thursday on how best to support Ukraine nearly 11 months into Russia's invasion.
Since the U.K. announced last week that it will send Challenger 2 tanks, Berlin has faced increasing calls to supply Leopard 2 tanks or at least clear the way for others, such as Poland, to deliver German-made Leopard 2s from their own stocks.
Germany's new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, left open whether that will happen and under what conditions after meeting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on his first day in office.
He told ARD television he was "pretty sure we will get a decision on this in the coming days, but I can't yet tell you today how it will look."
Austin will host a regular coordination meeting of Ukraine's Western allies at the United States' Ramstein Air Base in Germany today.
Speaking by video link on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy offered a veiled critique of major supporters such as Germany and the U.S. that have nonetheless hesitated about sending tanks.
He bemoaned a "lack of specific weaponry." Speaking through an interpreter, he said: "There are times where we shouldn't hesitate or we shouldn't compare when someone says, 'I will give tanks if someone else will also share his tanks.'"
Ukraine's foreign and defense ministers said that the promised British tanks, while welcome, are "not sufficient to achieve operational goals."
"We guarantee that we will use these weapons responsibly and exclusively for the purposes of protecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders," Dmytro Kuleba and Oleksii Reznikov said in a statement, appealing to Germany and several other countries that use the Leopard 2 to join an "international tank coalition."
For months, Ukraine has sought heavier vehicles such as the Leopard and U.S. Abrams tanks, but Western leaders have trodden carefully.
Germany has been particularly in focus recently. Critics, some inside Germany's governing coalition, have long complained of Chancellor OIaf Scholz's perceived hesitancy to take the next step when it comes to weapons deliveries.
Scholz has been wary of pressure, insisting that Germany wouldn't go it alone and pointing to a need to ensure that NATO doesn't become a party to the war with Russia, though every time so far Berlin has eventually moved ahead. He portrays his cautious weighing of each step as a virtue.
In Davos Wednesday, Scholz avoided directly answering a question about Leopards, saying Germany will remain one of Ukraine's top weapons suppliers and that "we are never doing something just by ourselves, but together with others -- especially the United States."
TANK NOT PART OF U.S. AID PACKAGE
An upcoming new package of U.S. military aid is expected to include nearly 100 Stryker combat vehicles and at least 50 Bradley armored vehicles -- but not the Abrams main battle tank, which U.S. officials say has complex maintenance needs and may not be the best fit.
"I won't get ahead of announcements," John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters in Washington Wednesday. "But you can imagine that every time there's a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, there are announcements by many of the countries that attend in terms of what they are willing to contribute."
The U.S. Army says in an online description that there are 18 variants of the Stryker, including an "anti-tank guided missile" vehicle and personnel carriers. "Stryker vehicles provide the warfighter with a reliable, combat-tested platform that includes significant survivability and capability enhancements since the original fielding in 2002," according to the Army.
The U.S. isn't expected to provide its main battle tank, the M1 Abrams, given its heavy demands for fuel and maintenance.
"The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment," Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday. "It's expensive, it's hard to train on. It has a jet engine. I think it's about 3 gallons to the mile of jet fuel. It is not the easiest system to maintain. It may or may not be the right system."
Information for this article was contributed by Geir Moulson, Jamey Keaten, Aamer Madhani, Dasha Litvinova and Jan M. Olsen of The Associated Press and by Jennifer Jacobs, Daryna Krasnolutska, Peter Martin and Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News (TNS).
Britain's military officers sit on top of an armoured vehicle at the Tapa Military Camp, in Estonia, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Senior officials from Britain, Poland, the Baltic nations and other European countries met in Estonia on Thursday before the Ramstein gathering. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Britain's armoured self-propelled artillery AS-90 move at the Tapa Military Camp, in Estonia, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Senior officials from Britain, Poland, the Baltic nations and other European countries met in Estonia on Thursday before the Ramstein gathering. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
New German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, right, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shake hands prior to a meeting at the Defence Ministry in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace speaks to the media during his visit to the Tapa Military Camp, in Estonia, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Wallace said his country would send at least three batteries of AS-90 artillery, armoured vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and 600 Brimstone missiles, as well as the squadron of Challenger 2 tanks. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Britain's armoured vehicles prepare to move at the Tapa Military Camp, in Estonia, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Britain's Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said his country would send at least three batteries of AS-90 artillery, armored vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and 600 Brimstone missiles, as well as the squadron of Challenger 2 tanks. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, centre, speaks to the media during his visit to the Tapa Military Camp, in Estonia, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Wallace said his country would send at least three batteries of AS-90 artillery, armoured vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and 600 Brimstone missiles, as well as the squadron of Challenger 2 tanks. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Andrzej Duda, left, President of Poland and Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, right, attend a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from Jan. 16 until Jan. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
New German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, right, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shake hands prior to a meeting at the Defence Ministry in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)