A renewed Russian offensive is putting greater pressure on Germany to supply Ukraine with its heavy battle tanks. So far, Berlin has resisted sending its Leopard 2 tanks amid concerns such a move will more directly involve them in the war.

The recent resignation of Germany’s Defence Minster, Christine Lambrecht, might signal a policy reversal though German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said one event has nothing to do with the other. Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan believes the war in Ukraine might finally change Germany’s long-standing pacifist defense policy.

Excerpted from Peter’s Jan. 17 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:

When your country’s history has more than one tally mark next to the category – “World Wars Started” – it makes sense to avoid any form of strategic defense policy. Former German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht did just that. She wasn’t a skilled defense policymaker. She wasn’t a military strategist. And that’s exactly what Germany needed…until now.

Germany’s slide into pacifist/socialist oblivion has been a somewhat viable plan, especially since their neighboring countries are neutral or part of NATO. That’s until Putin had to ruin everything and plop Russia back on the warpath.

So now Germany has to come face-to-face with the question they’ve been putting off since the Cold War and perhaps WWII – Do we get involved? Lambrecht’s resignation is seemingly a signal that we will see movement in Germany’s strategic policy very soon.