Former NATO chief criticizes Germany for not sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as backlash grows

Germany’s refusal to send tanks to Ukraine is ‘pathetic’ and threatens its ‘credibility as an ally’, a former British NATO chief warned last night.

General Sir Richard Shirreff told The Mail on Sunday that Berlin was “shirking its responsibility” to help defeat Vladimir Putin’s army, comparing the despotic Russian leader to Adolf Hitler.

“Germany’s behavior is absolutely calling into question its credibility as a NATO ally,” he said.

His damning comments increased the pressure on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who refused to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Berlin has also prevented other European nations from sending German-made tanks.

Sir Richard, who was NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, said: “Germany has a particular responsibility because of its history, to help Ukraine defend itself against a bloodied autocrat, prepared to inflict unspeakable suffering on a neighbour, because Germany has been here before.” . I wouldn’t draw too many parallels, there is always a danger, but the last time anyone did this kind of behavior it was Hitler.

“So Germany has a particular responsibility and it is shirking that responsibility, and if it is shirking this responsibility, then how trustworthy is Germany as a NATO ally, when asked to implement Article 5, frankly? It’s pathetic.

Article 5 of the NATO treaty says that an armed attack against any member must be considered an attack against all.

Critics say the German government does not want to send its tanks because it fears that Putin will respond by cutting off oil and gas supplies. The UK has committed to sending 14 Challenger 2 tanks.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended a memorial service yesterday for officials killed in a helicopter crash in Kyiv earlier this month, called for tanks in talks involving Western allies in Germany this weekend.