Germany is preparing to appoint a new defense minister, Boris Pistorius. The previous minister, Christina Lambrecht, resigned in the midst of criticism over the delay in the decision to supply Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine.

Note that Germany's position on the transfer of tanks has not yet been determined. So the new head of the German Ministry of Defense should prioritize this issue.

After the official appointment, Pistorius should move on to specifics

German Vice Chancellor Robert Gabeck said that the decision to transfer the Leopard-2 to Ukraine will be the first and main item on the agenda for the newly elected defense minister. Boris Pistorius will decide this issue when he is officially appointed to the post.

When the Secretary of Defense is announced, this is the first issue that must be resolved specifically, the Vice Chancellor said.

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It should be noted that Germany is in no hurry to make decisions on approving the supply of tanks to Ukraine, because it is afraid that Russia will consider this step an escalation. At the same time, NATO members consider this fear unfounded – Russia is not going to stop military aggression against Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba noted that already 5 countries of the Alliance are ready to transfer Leopard 2 to Ukraine, but are forced wait for Germany's decision. Despite this, the minister is convinced that Ukraine will still receive the necessary tanks

What is known about the new German defense minister

• Already on January 19, Olaf Scholz will provide Boris Pistorius with a certificate of appointment to the new position. After that, the politician will take the oath in the German Bundestag and officially become the Minister of Defense of Germany.
• The Chancellor considers Pistorius an experienced politician who “should lead the Bundeswehr at this turning point.” It is known that the future Minister of Defense was the Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony since 2013.
• He has also been a member of the state parliament in Hannover since 2017. And from 2006 to 2013 he was mayor of the German city of Osnabrück.