Defense chiefs fail to reach deal on sending tanks to Ukraine

Top Western military officials on Friday failed to come to an agreement on providing modern battle tanks to Ukraine during a meeting to coordinate lethal aid to Kyiv in its war with Russia.

After more than five hours of talks at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, countries were still at an impasse as to whether to provide German-made Leopard 2 tanks to the embattled country.

At the center of the roadblock is Germany, which needs to give permission to other countries that possess the tank before they can export it to Ukraine. Berlin has so far resisted pressure to quickly allow Kyiv to take possession of its own tanks or clear the way for other countries to send theirs.