 Enormous fear of a nuclear war is the reason why German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far blocked allies from sending its Leopard 2 tanks, military analyst and former Austrian Defence Ministry officer Gustav Gressel said on Thursday, January 19th. Speaking to Reuters in Berlin, Gressel said, The chancellery, believed it was the prime target, I don't know how this strange perception came about. I have a bit of an impression that Scholz has lost sight of the fact that Germany is actually a part of the NATO Alliance. He's mentally not westbound, said Gressel, who served five years in the Austrian armed forces. Washington and many western allies say the Leopards, which Germany made in the thousands during the Cold War and exported to its allies, are the only suitable option available in big enough numbers. A German government source said, Berlin would lift its objections if Washington sends its own Abrams tanks. But US officials say they have no plan yet to send the Abrams, which run on powerful turbine engines seen as using too much fuel or Kiev's strained logistic system to supply at the front. Dozens of allies gather for a Ukraine support conference on Friday at Rammstein, Washington's main European airbase, where Germany's 9 NO to Leopards is bound to dominate discussions. I'd say that the capability gap between Eastern and Western tanks, especially if we talk about elderly Leopard 2 versions, is not that big, but the logistical difference it makes in terms of ammunition supplies, life of spare parts, is considerable.