Now It’s Germany’s Turn to Frustrate Allies Over Ukraine

autotldr Bot , 4 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

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Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative who once chaired a key defense committee in the House of Commons was widely quoted in the British press calling the statement “a flagrant abuse of intelligence.”

Coming in a week when President Vladimir V. Putin threatened nuclear escalation if NATO troops entered the conflict, the tensions among Western allies underscored the ways they are struggling to maintain unity at a moment of apparent stalemate in the war and of flagging support, particularly in Washington.

Germany has provided more arms and promised more aid to Ukraine than any nation bar the United States — but Mr. Scholz has drawn the line at the Taurus, whose powers, he fears, could particularly provoke Mr. Putin.

Germany’s military confirmed the audio was authentic, but did not comment on its contents, including a discussion of the need for German involvement in running the system if it were handed to Ukraine.

Germany’s decision to send Leopard tanks last year did not enable Ukraine to mount a successful counteroffensive, and there are doubts about whether F-16 fighters, about to be delivered to Kyiv, will turn the battle now.

What Ukraine needs most, American officials say, is old-fashioned artillery shells to fend off inching Russian territorial advances, and air defenses against missile and drone attacks.

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