Ukraine is pushing for the delivery of battle tanks and accusing the federal government of ignorance. However, the German military aid is quite extensive and meanwhile probably also plays an important role on the battlefield.
The outgoing Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk shows no signs of wanting to end his last few weeks in Berlin in peace. "This catastrophic policy of refusal by the SPD and the traffic light to let Ukraine down militarily at this critical moment will have devastating consequences for the future," Melnyk rumbled on Twitter. The ambassador refers to the debate about the delivery of German main battle tanks. Politicians from the Greens and the FDP are in favor of it, but the SPD is hesitant, once again. But is Germany really letting Ukraine down militarily?
Even if other countries deliver significantly more, both in absolute terms and in comparison to their economic power, German support for Ukraine is not insignificant. An overview published by the federal government lists all military aid since the beginning of the year in detail. This wide range includes stocks of the Bundeswehr and German industry, financed from the two billion euro pot of so-called training aid. This also includes heavy weapons, above all 24 anti-aircraft tanks of the Gepard type. These come from old stocks of the armory Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann and are now used at the front. Six more are to follow.
In May, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the "Welt" that Ukraine had not asked for the anti-aircraft tanks: "It's true that we didn't ask for the cheetah, the decisive factor for the federal government seems to have been more to give us something which she doesn't need herself," says Kuleba. "The cheetahs are a very good front-line anti-aircraft defense that can shoot down drones and attack aircraft at close range. This significantly limits Russia's air capabilities," Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Mussiyenko told ntv.de.
In addition, Germany has delivered ten Panzerhaubitzen 2000 from Bundeswehr stocks. The self-propelled guns are considered modern and highly effective. At the beginning of September, the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal emphasized the importance of the self-propelled howitzers and the Mars II rocket launchers, three of which were made available by Germany. These had "proven themselves on the battlefield," he said during a visit to Berlin. He hopes for further deliveries - none are currently planned.
There are already 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missile systems, 500 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and three armored recovery vehicles in Ukraine. The Cobra reconnaissance systems have long been on the Ukrainian wish list - Germany recently delivered one. The Ukrainian troops can use it to locate enemy artillery locations and thus sometimes gain a significant combat advantage. The announced delivery of the air defense system Iris-T is still pending. However, these would be important for Ukraine to repel Russian missile attacks, Ukrainian security expert Vasyl Mykhailyshyn told ntv.
The Austrian Colonel Markus Reisner also points out that a functioning anti-aircraft defense system would make it possible to protect the hinterland. "It is important to be able to ensure that supply depots, fuel depots and infrastructure are protected against Russian attacks in the long term."
Apart from heavy weapons, the federal government has so far approved several million rounds of ammunition, hundreds of thousands of hand grenades and various anti-drone systems and vehicles. There are also very mundane things such as helmets, clothing or food rations. Germany makes a major contribution in terms of medical care: hospital beds, medicine and a field hospital went to the front. The total value of deliveries since the beginning of the year is more than 730 million euros. The current market value, which is sometimes well below the acquisition value, is calculated for the material from the Bundeswehr stocks.
But that's not enough for a country that continues to be under constant fire from an invading army. For weeks, Kyiv has been asking for heavy weapons, in particular the German Leopard 2 battle tank and Marder infantry fighting vehicles. In view of the Russian war of aggression, these are necessary "to liberate people and protect them from genocide," Foreign Minister Kuleba wrote on Twitter. Although Chancellor Olaf Scholz warns against going it alone, the pressure on the Chancellery on this issue is steadily increasing. Ambassador Melnyk will see increasing this as his main task in his last few weeks in Berlin.
