Talks in Germany end without decision on sending Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine

Talks in Germany end without decision on sending Leopard battle tanks to UkraineOTTAWA — Defence Minister Anita Anand was heading home from a meeting in Germany on Friday after she and her counterparts from the United States and across Europe failed to make much headway on whether to provide battle tanks to Ukraine. The Ukrainian government led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said it needs tanks to protect its troops and launch counter-offensives against Russian forces, particularly in the eastern part of the country. The Trudeau government has not said whether Canada is open to sending some of its German-made Leopard 2 tanks, which were purchased from Germany in 2007 during the height of the war in Afghanistan. But before Canada can even entertain the idea, it needs Berlin's sign-off to allow it to re-export the tanks to Ukraine, which is not a member of the NATO military alliance. But she did not say whether the two discussed the provision of tanks, adding tanks aren’t the only thing Ukraine needs.