Ahead of Friday’s crucial leaders’ meeting at Ramstein air base in Germany, the pressure was on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to approve the re-export of Leopard 2 tanks, with Poland threatening to send Ukraine a batch of 14 tanks regardless. German officials signalled they were willing if the US would also send over some of its own Abrams tanks, but the US said on Wednesday the Abrams was fuel inefficient and required complex logistics support.

By the end of the Ramstein meeting, Germany had declined to take a decision on whether to give Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine – prompting frustration in Kyiv and a warning from Poland that lives could be lost because of hesitation in Berlin.

Berlin’s newly appointed defence minister said no final decision had been taken but he had asked his ministry to “undertake an examination of the stocks” of the tanks available.

Jack Watling, senior research fellow for land warfare at the Royal United Services Institute, wrote that the prospect of several countries providing Ukraine with Nato-designed main battle tanks offers a pathway towards renewed momentum in Kyiv’s bid to reclaim its territory from Russian occupation. The next six months will probably be critical to this effort. However, enabling Ukraine to operate these vehicles will require more than just the delivery of the tanks.