The German Chancellor said in a statement this morning: "The goal is to quickly assemble two tank battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine.

"In a first step, Germany will provide a company with 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from stocks of the Bundeswehr."

Germany will also grant permits for partner countries to transfer the tanks held in their stocks to Ukraine.

The decision paves the way for countries such as Poland, Spain and Norway to supply their stocks to Ukraine.