Poland asks for German approval to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

Poland has requested permission from the German government to export its German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and asked Berlin to send the tanks as well, Poland's defence minister wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
"I also appeal to the German side to join the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks," Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote.
"This is our common cause, because the security of the whole of Europe is at stake!" he wrote.
According to information obtained by dpa, the Polish request had already been submitted to the German government on Tuesday.
Poland has been putting increasing pressure on its allies to get the tanks to Ukraine.
Last week, President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw had decided to give embattled Ukraine 14 of its Leopard battle tanks.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday that even if Poland did not get Berlin's approval in the end, they wanted to act within the framework of a small coalition. "If the Germans are not in this coalition, we will still move our tanks to Ukraine together with others," Morawiecki said.