BERLIN (Reuters). Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected Sunday’s criticism that Germany wasn’t leading in west efforts to provide Ukraine heavy weapons to resist Russia’s invasion. He said that he prefers to be prudent than take rash decisions.

Scholz feels pressured at home as well as abroad to supply Ukraine heavy arms like tanks and howitzers. He also supports an EU-wide embargo immediately on Russian energy imports in order to remove President Vladimir Putin from the hard currency that he needs to fund war.

Scholz said in an interview to Bild am Sonntag that he takes his decisions quickly and works with partners. I find hasty decisions and maverick German efforts to be questionable.

Germany approved, on April 26, the shipment of “Gepard,” anti-aircraft tanks from Ukraine. This decision was supported by 55% Germans in an opinion poll, which stated that Europe’s most important economy should be supplying Ukraine with these weapons.

The decision didn’t change public opinion about Scholz, who was perceived as indecisive but lacking leadership. A Bild am Sonntag poll showed 54% dissatisfied by Scholz’s management of the crisis. According to the poll, his approval rating dropped from 32% to 32%.

Some of Germany’s NATO partners expressed concern that Russia might expand the war beyond Ukraine.

Other countries, such as Poland, are dissatisfied with Germany’s refusal to impose an EU embargo against Russian gas imports.

As junior coalition partners with Scholz’s Social Democrats the Greens, and Free Democrats want more military support for Ukraine.

Scholz had to compromise his demands with the left-leaning party members who feel that delivering heavy weapons Ukraine to Russia could provoke a Russian military reaction in a third nation and start a wider conflict.

Moscow refers to its actions as “special operations”, aimed at disarming Ukraine and removing anti-Russian nationalism from the country. The West and Ukraine claim that Russia started an unprovoked conflict of interest.