Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. (Photo: VNA)

Germany said last week it would send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv and also approve Leopard shipments by allied European countries.

In an interview published Sunday in the daily Der Tagesspiegel, Chancellor Scholz said he is trying to arrange phone calls with President Putin because “it is necessary to have a dialogue”.

The last phone conversation between the two leaders took place last December. 

Germany is the second largest donor of military hardware to Ukraine after the United States, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, ahead of other European powers such as France and Britain.