Germany is sending 50 tanks to Ukraine to fight Russia and will train Ukrainian troops on German soil

• Germany announced it's sending 50 anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine.
• This will mark the first time Berlin has provided Kyiv with heavy weapons.

Germany on Tuesday said it would train Ukrainian troops on German soil and send Kyiv 50 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, marking a significant policy shift for Berlin.

"Yesterday we decided that Germany will make the delivery of 'Gepard' anti-aircraft tanks possible to Ukraine," German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht announced in remarks at a US-hosted defense conference on Ukraine at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, per DW. Lambrecht also said that Germany was "working together with our American friends in training Ukrainian troops on artillery systems on German soil."

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin applauded Germany over its "significant" decision to send tanks, stating, "Those systems will provide real capability for Ukraine," BBC News reported.

Berlin has faced increasing pressure to offer more substantial military support to Kyiv, and this will represent the first time Germany has supplied Ukraine with heavy weapons, which the besieged country says it needs to battle Russia in its east. It's yet another example of the ways in which Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has prompted rapid changes in policy across the West.

Less than a week ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested that supplying such weapons could catalyze nuclear war.

"I said very early on that we must do everything possible to avoid a direct military confrontation between NATO and a highly armed superpower like Russia, a nuclear power," Scholz told Der Spiegel. "I am doing everything I can to prevent an escalation that would lead to a third world war. There cannot be a nuclear war."

When asked why he thought delivering tanks to Ukraine would lead to such "terrible consequences," the German leader said, "There is no textbook for this situation in which you could read about the point at which we are perceived as a war party. The book is being rewritten every day, and some lessons are still ahead of us. This makes it all the more important that we carefully consider and closely coordinate each of our steps. Avoiding an escalation on the NATO side is my top priority."

Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, Germany was criticized for consistently refusing to supply Kyiv with lethal aid or weapons. Germany feared provoking Russia, on which it is heavily dependent for natural gas, and cited past atrocities it committed in the region as justification for not providing arms to Ukraine. When Germany announced it would send 5,000 helmets to Ukraine in January, the mayor of Kyiv decried the offer as a "joke."

But just two days after the Russian invasion, Germany broke from this longstanding policy and said it would send weapons to Ukraine.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point," Scholz said in a statement at the time. "It threatens our entire post-war order. In this situation, it is our duty to do our utmost to support Ukraine in defending itself against Vladimir Putin's invading army. Germany stands closely by Ukraine's side."