Western leaders have tried to maintain a unified front in providing weapons to Ukraine. But they are showing their coalition has some cracks.

The allies believe Russian troops may be preparing for another offensive. Some want to provide Ukrainian forces with Leopard 2 tanks, which are made in Germany. They need permission from German leaders.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday that his government would ask for approval but go ahead regardless. "Even if we do not get this consent in the end, as part of a small coalition, even if the Germans would not be in this coalition, we will still hand over our tanks together with others to Ukraine," he said.

German leaders have worked since the end of World War Two to promote peace and consensus. They have suggested they would be open to allowing their allies send the tanks. But they are still deciding.

"Maybe it's good to weigh things up, to consider many things before you take a reckless step that, in the end, you bitterly regret," said government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Western officials of using their weapons to wage what he called a "hybrid war." He said, with their latest deliveries, they have brought the war closer to a "real one."