Germany's Foreign Minister says her government wouldn't "stand in the way" if Poland were to give Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine without its authorisation.

Annalena Baerbock made the comment in an interview with French TV station LCI in what appeared to be the first clear signal from Berlin over the contentious issue.

Warsaw has been waiting for the green light from Berlin to provide its German-made armoured vehicles to Kyiv, and the Polish prime minister is clear on where he stands. 

Posting on Twitter, Mateusz Morawiecki said: "We will not stand by idly and watch Ukraine bleed to death. If we don’t get German agreement on the Leopards, we will build a "smaller coalition" of countries ready to donate some of their modern tanks to a fighting Ukraine"

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the main focus of the war is the issue of defence. He explained that "this week will be the time of appropriate decisions" and that solutions had "already been prepared", which he says "will be fair."

Kremlin says Ukrainians will suffer if Europe sends tanks

The Kremlin said on Monday that it was the Ukrainian people who would suffer if the West sends tanks to support Kyiv, as the question of whether Berlin will authorise Leopard tanks to be transferred to Ukraine remained unresolved.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said splits in Europe over whether to provide tanks to Kyiv showed there was "nervousness" within the NATO military alliance. He added that all countries bear responsibility for the consequences of "pumping" Ukraine with weapons.