Germany is also supporting Ukraine with weapons from its own stocks. Defense Minister Lambrecht sees little scope for this in the future without endangering national defence. You would "reach the limits of what we can give from the Bundeswehr," she explains.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht sees hardly any opportunities to send weapons from the Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine for defense against Russia. "I have to admit, as Minister of Defense, (...) we are reaching the limits of what we can give away from the Bundeswehr," said the SPD politician at the cabinet meeting in Meseberg near Berlin. The Bundeswehr must be able to guarantee national and alliance defense. As Minister of Defense, she will ensure that this continues to be the case, she stressed.
Among other things, the Bundeswehr has handed over several self-propelled howitzers (heavy artillery pieces) and multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine. A few days ago, the chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, called for Ukraine to continue being supplied with weapons from Bundeswehr stocks. She specifically named Marder armored personnel carriers, for which the Bundeswehr could later get a replacement from industry.
Lambrecht was "very optimistic" that there could be a ring exchange with Greece in support of Ukraine in the near future. She offered Poland further talks about it. The idea of ring exchange came up shortly after the beginning of the Ukraine war. The aim is to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons as quickly as possible. Since the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not require additional training for Soviet systems, such weapons were swiftly delivered to Ukraine from Eastern European countries. For this, they should now be supplied with western brands.
The Federal Government has already reached corresponding agreements with the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Poland, which has already delivered around 200 tanks to Ukraine, was dissatisfied with the German offers and complained loudly about them. An agreement has also not yet been reached with Greece and Slovenia.
