Germany, Denmark and Norway will supply Ukraine with 16 armored car systems from next year, Berlin announced on Sunday, while Kiev is looking for heavier weapons to improve the fight against Russia.
The announcement came after German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht visited Ukraine this weekend for the first time since the invasion of Moscow in February.
Germany, Denmark and Norway have agreed to jointly fund the purchase of Slovakia’s Zuzana-2 weapons at a cost of 92 million euros ($90.2 million), the defense ministry in Berlin said.
The weapons will be produced in Slovakia, with delivery to Ukraine from 2023, he said.
The new promise still does not meet what Ukraine is asking. Kiev has repeatedly sought Leopard’s main battle tanks from Germany, but the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has refused.
Scholz said he does not want to be alone in supplying weapons and will only make decisions after consulting with his Western allies. On public television ARD, Lambrecht again defended arms supplies from Berlin to Ukraine, urging Germany to do much to support Kiev.
“We will continue to engage in various ways and again – as we have done so far – we will work with partners,” he said of the “Bericht aus Berlin” program.
He also insisted that Germany should not become a direct part of the conflict. “It is very clear to the German government and to the whole of NATO. We will not be part of the war,” Lambrecht assured.
His visit to the southern port city of Odessa came on Saturday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions. The annexations were unanimously condemned by Ukraine’s allies, including Germany.
Lambrecht described how air-raid sirens went off during his visit. “We went through it twice in a few hours and had to move to a bunker. For those people, that’s the reality.”
Source: DN
