The German chancellor said in an interview on Sunday that there was “a consensus” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Western-supplied weapons should not be used for attacks on Russian soil.
“There is a consensus on this point,” Olaf Scholz told the Bild am Sonntag weekly about the decision by Ukraine’s allies to supply tanks and long-range rockets.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “German tanks threaten again” Russia, drawing a parallel between the Russian military operation in Ukraine and the war against Nazi forces, on the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Hitler’s armies in Stalingrad.
“Words [de Putin] they are part of a series of absurd historical comparisons that he uses to justify the attack on Ukraine,” Olaf Scholz told Bild.
“But there is no justification for this war,” stressed the German leader.
“Together with our allies, we are supplying Ukraine with tanks so that this country can defend itself. We carefully weigh each arms delivery, in close coordination with our allies, starting with the United States. This joint approach helps prevent an escalation of the war,” he said. .
Ukraine’s allies pledged to supply “between 120 and 140” Western-made tanks from various countries. Germany will deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks. Portugal will provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Leopard 2 tanks, Prime Minister António Costa announced, without specifying how many.
“We are currently working to be able to do without some of our tanks. I know how many tanks it will be [enviados para a Ucrânia]but that will be announced at the right time,” he said.
In addition to the tanks, Ukraine will also receive GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb) rockets, which could nearly double the range of the Ukrainian strike force, the Pentagon announced on Friday.
These missiles can hit a target 150 kilometers away, thus threatening Russian positions behind the front lines.
Asked by Bild about possible threats from Putin, Olaf Scholz said that, during the telephone conversations held with the Russian president since the start of the conflict, on February 24, 2022, Putin did not make direct threats to the German leader or to Germany.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed, in a documentary, to have been threatened by the Russian president, who mentioned the missile launch. The Kremlin has denied the allegations.
The Russian invasion, justified by Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, was condemned by the broader international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Source: TSF
