Seems #Germany is upset about the limited number of #Leopard donors to #Ukraine. While I have long been arguing for more aid to Ukraine, I'm somewhat unsure what exactly is the core of the criticism in this case.
The decision to approve exports was good, and #Scholtz et al. deserve credit for it. At the same time, it took months longer than it had to. This discrepancy is at the heart of (at least my) criticism towards #Germany.
Make no mistake, Germany does *a lot*, but every step is accompanied by hand-wringing and vocal concerns about the risk of escalation, which undercut the diplomatic part of it.
When it comes to the #FreeTheLeopard in particular, the discussion has been ongoing for months, and Germany has denied other countries the opportunity to proceed. The "not alone" has been a hollow argument, as it has been other countries asking permission to do something.
"Not without the US" was the real argument, showing that European strategic autonomy wasn't something Germany actually cared for in this case.
The lack of ready plans from other countries is notable. For a few months it has been clear that at some point the Leopards likely would be freed, and having a ready contingency plan for that would seem to have been an obvious move for most operators. is.fi/politiikka/art…
So here I can give German criticism some points. At the same time, "We've changed our mind, why didn't you prepare for that?" isn't necessarily the strongest foundation for critiquing others...
Numbers and firm commitments could be higher, but isn't surprising. I pointed out way back in January that few operators have large numbers available for delivery, unless they're frontline states with cause for ensuring they have strong forces themselves. corporalfrisk.com/2023/01/15/fre… 
So far #Poland, #Norway, #Canada, #Spain, and #Portugal have all joined in, as well as the Danish-Dutch-German #Leopard1A5 deal for 100 tanks. I imagine *some* additional tanks will appear as well (*cough* Finland *cough*). corporalfrisk.com/2023/02/11/leo…
I'm not sure what 🇩🇪 was expecting? A number of countries each donating a handful of tanks to ensure critical mass of at least a battalion or two was the low-hanging fruit discussed all along. Anything else (Spain shipping all 2E or Finland all 2A4) would've been a huge surprise.
(#Poland might have been overly vocal about how ready everything was, but they have also sent significant numbers of tanks already and is ready to part with a company of Leopards despite being in the first row, so it's difficult to fault them too much) oryxspioenkop.com/2022/04/answer…
It seems there's a combination of 1) people talking about "hundreds of Leopards" without detailing versions or users leading to unrealistic expectations, and 2) Germany not feeling appreciated for ending their stalling of deliveries after half a year, both are in play here.
I would advise everyone to take a deep breath. Germany hasn't exactly the goodwill built up to start trashing people, and others could have had their plans ready for the inevitable German flip. Still, the Leopards are now on the move, and they will be an important addition. 🐆
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