Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba lamented on Friday that the new military aid package announced by Germany does not meet Ukraine’s immediate needs and called on Berlin to “tear down the wall of weapons.”
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Thursday that several armored vehicles would be delivered “very soon” to Ukraine, but ruled out sending tanks requested by kyiv.
Lambrecht announced the shipment of two new Mars-II multiple rocket launchers, plus 200 rockets. Ukraine will also benefit from 50 Dingo all-terrain transport vehicles.
But for the head of Ukrainian diplomacy it is “a mystery” that Berlin does not respond to requests from kyiv.
“We are asking for Leopard tanks or Marten tanks, and Germany is providing us with Dingo-type armored vehicles. That is also useful, and we are grateful. But it is not what we need most in combat,” said Dmytro Kuleba, in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
Kuleba added that he felt there was “a kind of gun wall” in Berlin.
“I think for the chancellor [alemão] The time has come to tear down this wall,” he stressed.
The German government has come under fire in recent days, both in kyiv and Berlin, for its reluctance to hand over tanks, which could make the difference at a time when Ukrainian forces are mounting a counteroffensive.
“Even if training soldiers for Leopard tanks took longer, these tanks would be needed on the battlefield in two to three months. The decision on this must be made now,” insisted the Ukrainian minister.
The reluctance to deliver the requested main battle tanks is also provoking reactions in the coalition led by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressing a desire for a quick decision on Thursday.
However, the German government is not currently considering the time to proceed with the deployment of Leopard-2 main battle tanks.
Berlin continues to search for a circular shipping system. Thus, Greece will receive German Marder-type armored vehicles, also ordered by kyiv, and Athens will deliver older armored vehicles to Ukraine “very soon”, according to the German defense minister.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.2 million to European countries-, according to the most recent data from the UN, which places this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia. political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 5,827 civilian deaths and 8,421 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
