After weeks of hesitation that saw growing impatience among Germany's allies, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday that his government would provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks and approve requests by other countries to do the same.Video above: Netherlands says it will send Patriot assistance to UkraineIn a statement, the government said it would initially provide Ukraine with one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks, which comprises 14 vehicles, from its own stocks. The goal is for Germany and its allies to provide Ukraine with a total of two battalions, or 88 tanks.Scholz said Germany was 바카라 게임 웹사이트�acting in close coordination바카라 게임 웹사이트� with its allies.The long-awaited decision came after U.S. officials said a preliminary agreement had been struck for the United States to send M1 Abrams tanks to help Kyiv push back Russian forces entrenched in the east almost a year since the start of the war.Scholz had insisted that any move to provide Ukraine with powerful Leopard 2 tanks would need to be closely coordinated with Germany's allies, chiefly the United States. By getting Washington to commit some of its own tanks Berlin hopes to spread the risk of any backlash from Russia.Ekkehard Brose, head of the German military바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Federal Academy for Security Policy, said tying the United States into the decision was crucial, to avoid Europe facing a nuclear-armed Russia alone.But he also noted the deeper historic significance of the decision.바카라 게임 웹사이트�German-made tanks will face off against Russian tanks in Ukraine once more,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said, adding that this was 바카라 게임 웹사이트�not an easy thought바카라 게임 웹사이트� for Germany, which takes its responsibility for the horrors of World War II seriously.바카라 게임 웹사이트�And yet it is the right decision,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Brose said, arguing that it was up to Western democracies to help Ukraine stop Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트�s military campaign.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described German and U.S. intentions with the tanks as a 바카라 게임 웹사이트�a rather disastrous plan.바카라 게임 웹사이트�바카라 게임 웹사이트�I am convinced that many specialists understand the absurdity of this idea,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Peskov told reporters Wednesday.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Simply because of technological aspects, this is a rather disastrous plan. The main thing is, this is a completely obvious overestimation of the potential (the supply of tanks) would add to the armed forces of Ukraine. It is yet another fallacy, a rather profound one,바카라 게임 웹사이트� the Kremlin official said.Peskov predicted 바카라 게임 웹사이트�these tanks will burn down just like all the other ones. ... Except they cost a lot, and this will fall on the shoulders of European taxpayers.바카라 게임 웹사이트� he added.Members of Scholz's three-party coalition government welcomed the news ahead of the official announcement.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The Leopard바카라 게임 웹사이트�s freed!바카라 게임 웹사이트� said German lawmaker Katrin Goering-Eckardt, a senior Green party lawmaker.Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the Free Democratic Party who chairs the parliamentary defense committee, said the news was 바카라 게임 웹사이트�a relief for a mistreated and brave Ukraine.바카라 게임 웹사이트�바카라 게임 웹사이트�The decision to approve (other countries바카라 게임 웹사이트� requests) and supply the Leopard 2 was arduous, but unavoidable,바카라 게임 웹사이트� she said.Strack-Zimmermann had been one of the loudest voices calling for a swift decision on arms supplies to Ukraine.Two smaller opposition parties criticized the move, however.The far-right Alternative for Germany called the decision 바카라 게임 웹사이트�irresponsible and dangerous.바카라 게임 웹사이트�바카라 게임 웹사이트�Germany risks being drawn directly into the war as a result,바카라 게임 웹사이트� its co-leader, Tino Chrupalla, said. The party, known by its acronym AfD, has friendly ties to Russia.The Left party, which also has historic links to Moscow, warned of a possible escalation in the conflict.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The supply of Leopard battle tanks, which ends a further taboo, potentially takes us closer to a third world war than in the direction of peace in Europe,바카라 게임 웹사이트� the party's parliamentary leader, Dietmar Bartsch, told German news agency dpa.Recent opinion polls showed German voters split on the idea.The pressure on Scholz mounted this week after Poland formally asked Germany to approve sending Leopard 2 tanks from Polish stocks to Ukraine.Poland's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, accused Germany of 바카라 게임 웹사이트�delaying, being evasive and acting in a way that is difficult to understand" when it came to supplying tanks, and went so far as to claim that Berlin appeared not to want to help Ukraine.Other European nations have also indicated willingness to part with their own battle tanks as part of a larger coalition.Germany news weekly Der Spiegel reported that Berlin could initially approve the supply of one tank company, comprising 14 vehicles.But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made clear late Tuesday that he hoped to receive a more substantial number of tanks from western allies.바카라 게임 웹사이트�It is not about five, or 10, or 15 tanks. The need is greater,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said.