Scholz Gets US Tank Pact He Wanted and a Bucketload of Criticism
- US pledge of Abrams tanks unlocks deal to supply Ukraine
- Europeans to send more than 100 German-made tanks to war zone
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz managed to secure the broad international alliance he wanted before sending German battle tanks to Ukraine, but the tortured process to get there may have hurt his reputation.
Amid signs that Russia is amassing troops and weapons for a fresh offensive, Scholz left the Ukrainians hanging for more than two weeks as he stared down the US and brushed off the increasingly strident demands from his European partners to allow German-made Leopards to be delivered to the war zone. He finally consented on Wednesday after wringing an agreement from President Joe Biden that the US would also send its tanks.