The German armaments industry should be happy to hear that: The Ukrainian ambassador in Germany values the weapon systems made in Germany in clear words. In the case of air defense, he reports a hit rate of 99 percent. Makeiev is less euphoric about the speed of deliveries.
The Ukrainian Ambassador in Berlin, Oleksii Makeiev, has emphasized the effectiveness of Western weapons in Ukraine's defensive war against Russia. "The German weapon systems in particular have so far clearly shown how superior they are to Russian technology," said Makeiev in an interview with the editorial network Germany (RND) and praised the accuracy in particular: "For example, the state-of-the-art air defense system IRIS-T with a Hit rate of almost 99 percent very proven. The Panzerhaubitze 2000 helped take out Russian ammunition and fuel depots." The multiple rocket launcher MARS II is also very important. "German weapons make a difference," Makeiev stressed to the RND.
When asked whether the numerical superiority of the Russians could be outweighed by Western military technology, Makeiev reluctantly replied: "I'm not a military technician, I can't tell you if one tank replaces five soldiers." The fact is, however, that the Russian attacks can be repelled much more efficiently with modern weapons technology. Kiev's ambassador expressed the hope that the delivery of German Leopard-type battle tanks, which has now been promised in a European alliance, will take place as soon as possible.
"We should hurry, because we have to expect that Russia will try to launch a new offensive very soon," Makeiev said, adding: "We asked for these tanks in the first phase of the war, and unfortunately it didn't It took quite a long time. Every day Ukraine pays for this time with the blood of soldiers and civilians who are killed. All the weapons we get help save lives and defend ourselves. Without weapons we can't do anything against this Russian machine ."
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal praised the German yes to the delivery of Leopard tanks as "a historic, important, epochal decision". He also pointed out that time was of the essence. "We hope that we will receive these tanks within weeks and not within months," Schmyhal told the "Spiegel".
Regarding the debate about Western fighter jets, the Ukrainian ambassador made it clear that this is not an issue with Germany at the moment: "We have not spoken to Germany about fighter jets so far. We have not made any official request to Germany to supply German fighter jets. It is nothing in conversation," Makeiev told RND.
