On top of this, in July 2022 the Polish defense ministry signed an agreement with South Korea to purchase 180 modern K2 tanks. Poland is currently buying hundreds of state-of-the-art Abrams tanks from the United States. The Polish army is in a phase of accelerated modernization and doesn't see the point in investing in old equipment." Germany acting below its capabilities Secondly, it wanted new generation tanks. "First of all, Poland wanted a whole battalion, so at least 44 tanks. "The Polish government wasn't satisfied with this offer," says Justyna Gotkowska, a security expert at the OSW Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw. In addition, Germany was prepared to hand over 100 old Leopard 1A5 tanks or used Marder infantry fighting vehicles. Germany had originally offered to supply Poland with 20 Leopard 2A4 tanks, but they would only have been fully operational about a year after the offer was made. The Leopard 2 A4 battle tank, seen here during a Canadian Army training exercise Image: Courtesy Canadian Armed Forces/REUTERS The Polish defense ministry told DW that no talks were currently taking place with Germany about this, either. A ring exchange with Germany would have been one way of closing this gap, but so far this has not come to pass. Ukraine has received more than 250 older, Soviet-era battle tanks from its neighbor, which left a considerable gap in Polish stocks. Poland is one of the Ukrainian army's principal supporters. Is the ring exchange helping Ukraine? How does it benefit NATO members taking part? Does the idea still have a future? And: does it reinforce the image of Germany as a country that, despite being the leading economic power in Europe, is failing to take a leading role in supporting Ukraine? DW put these questions to governmental representatives from countries participating in right exchanges as well as independent experts. German defense minister Christine Lambrecht was the one who floated the idea of a ring exchange Image: Thomas Frey/dpa/picture alliance Now, though, several successful ring exchanges have taken place, while others are being finalized. Poland, for example, flatly rejected a ring exchange, and it took months to agree to the details with Greece. ![]() Initially, the concept didn't work later on, it worked only in a few instances, and the process was generally far from smooth. ![]() More than six months after the ring exchange idea was broached, things have gone rather quiet. The ring exchange was also supposed to contribute to the military modernization of NATO members, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. This had the advantage of allowing Germany to circumvent the issue of supplying heavy weapons directly to Ukraine while still showing solidarity with it. ![]() These countries in turn would hand over to Ukraine weapons from their old stocks. The idea was that Germany would supply certain weapons, primarily battle tanks and other heavy equipment, to NATO partner countries rather than directly to Ukraine. For months, the phrase "ring exchange" was practically the motto of German policy on Ukraine, becoming synonymous with hesitation and half-heartedness.
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