This is utter bull**** on Germany's part. There is no good reason to insist on the US supplying M1 Abrams to Ukraine as a condition to sending Leopard 2s. M1 Abrams are incredibly high maintenance and require vast amounts of fuel and support that a war torn nation like Ukraine does not have. They are like the Lamborghini or Ferrari of tanks in that they are incredibly sophisticated and high performing, but require an army of mechanics and technicians constantly to maintain that effectiveness.
In contrast, the Leopard 2 is like an old school Porsche 911 with its lack of bells and whistles, air cooled engine, manual transmission, and just solid engineering. In essence, it is almost as capable and high performing as an M1 but far less demanding, which is why it is the choice of most NATO countries from Canada to Poland. Those M1s are going to sit in a garage in Ukraine.
