Kremlin says European infighting over sending advanced tanks to Ukraine is a sign of weakness

• Pressure is mounting on Germany to send its powerful Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
• Berlin has been criticized for holding back and also blocking others from supplying the tanks.

Russia sees the increasingly tense infighting between European countries about sending advanced tanks to Ukraine as a sign of weakness, the Kremlin said Monday.

"Europe is tightrope-walking at the moment, and the exchange of statements between European capitals ... suggests that anxiety among the members of the alliance is constantly increasing, growing," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The comment was given to reporters on Monday, according to Russia's state-run Sputnik News outlet.

His words followed mounting pressure on Germany from NATO countries that are unhappy with its reluctance to give its prized Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The tank is maneuverable, powerful, and heavily armed, as Insider's Jake Epstein reported.

Germany produces the tanks, and as well as declining to send any directly, it has also blocked other European countries from sending theirs, Politico reported.

Some countries, including Poland and Finland, have already promised they would send Ukraine the tanks. The UK has pledged to donate its Challenger 2 tank to Ukraine but has relatively few to give.

Poland, which neighbors Ukraine, last week threatened to ignore Germany and send its Leopards without approval, The Guardian reported.

But, its prime minister said, Poland would not act alone and wants at least a "small coalition of countries" to join it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Germany for wasting time, saying in a televised speech from Davos last week: "This is not a cinema where you wait for the film to start," The Guardian reported.