Roberta Metsola: Ukraine needs heavy armoury to survive

Addressing the ‘Night of European Ideas’ event in Berlin, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola called for further support for Ukraine.

She said this was a decisive moment and that Ukraine needed weapons to survive. 

“Most of its defence industry has been decimated, but many of our Member States have stepped in which is why Kyiv was preserved in March. But in this next phase of war, heavy armoury will be required. Tanks are needed and we must be able to take that next step,” said Metsola.

She also mentioned the idea to launch the Leopard Tank initiative, led by Germany, to provide Ukraine with a brigade of around 90 out of some 2,000 Leopard 2 tanks deployed in various member states. 

“We know that even those that are not battle ready can be restored relatively quickly. This could mean a modern-standard tank made available quickly. The countries that provide the tanks could be reimbursed through European funds such as the Peace Facility and that means all will be able to contribute to the effort.”

According to Metsola, another option could be a lend-lease programme that gives Ukraine direct access to the EU’s weapons industry, “giving them more say over what they need, while the EU helps provide the funding they need”. 

She added that both options have their pros and cons, but doing nothing is not an option:  “There is no time for complacency. We just need the political will to do it.”

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