Ukrainian troops have already received anti-tank weapons, rocket launchers and surface-to-air missiles from Berlin.
Germany has nearly exhausted its ability to supply Ukraine with equipment from its army’s reserves, the Bundeswehr, but is working on supplies made directly by the arms industry, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Saturday. †For deliveries from Bundeswehr stocks, I must honestly say that we have now reached a limitThe minister explained to the newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine.
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The German army must maintain its capacity to act and be able to “guarantee the defense of the country and the AllianceAtlantic (NATO), she added. †But that doesn’t mean we can’t do more for Ukraine, so we’ve clarified what the industry can provide directlyin Kiev, continues Christine Lambrecht. Berlin consultsconstantly with Ukraine on this topic†
Until the Russian invasion on February 24, Germany was, for historical reasons, reluctant to send weapons to Ukraine, which it demanded in the face of mounting tensions with Moscow. Chancellor Olaf Scholz then made a U-turn and Ukrainian forces have already received anti-tank weapons, rocket launchers and surface-to-air missiles from Berlin.
a land armymore or less dry†
But the conflict in Ukraine has also cast a hard light on the state.”alarmingof the Bundeswehr, said the Commissioner for Defense in the Bundestag (Parliament), Eva Högl, while one of the highest-ranking officers spoke of a land army”more or less dryThe head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba on Thursday urged NATO members to quickly provide him with more military equipment, including heavy weapons.It is clear that Germany can do more, given its reserves“, he said.
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In particular, the Ukrainians asked Berlin to supply a hundred armored vehicles of the Marder type. The Bundeswehr has manufactured such vehicles by the German company Rheinmetall. Rheinmetall could quickly prepare about 20 armored vehicles, currently under maintenance, for the Ukrainian armed forces, company chief Armin Papperger told Spiegel this week.
According to German media, the issue of such a delivery is being discussed by government security experts as it raises questions about technical feasibility, logistical delays and keeping Germany’s arsenal up to date. Citing Ukrainian government sources, the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag said on Saturday that Kiev has also received a large offer for the delivery of another model of armored vehicles from the weapons group Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).
The weekly claims that the German company is offering to supply 100 Panzerhaubitze 2000 armored howitzers worth 1.7 billion euros, including training and spare parts. The first vehicles would be delivered in the second half of 2024 at the earliest and all not before 2027. Starting this year, Germany will significantly increase its military spending and create an exceptional fund of 100 billion euros to modernize its army with the objective of NATO recommended 2% of GDP.
