There is again a dispute over German arms deliveries to Ukraine - according to one report, the IRIS air defense systems will be delivered much later than expected. According to Kyiv, the necessary export and financing commitments are missing.
According to a report in the "Welt am Sonntag" newspaper, arms deliveries promised by the federal government are clearly being delayed. At the beginning of July, the Ukrainian government applied for the purchase of eleven IRIS-T SLM air defense systems from the arms company Diehl Defense, the newspaper reports, citing government circles in Kiev. The Ministry of Economic Affairs in Berlin has reacted positively. But the federal government is delaying the approval of necessary financial aid according to the Ukrainian representation. One of the systems costs around 140 million euros.
At the beginning of June, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had promised Ukraine the delivery of such a copy for the "coming weeks". In the meantime, according to information from Kyiv, delivery is only in prospect by the end of the year, the newspaper reports. The Federal Security Council must approve such arms deliveries. The body consists of nine ministers who deal with foreign policy and is chaired by the chancellor. A government spokeswoman declined to comment on the allegations. Security Council meetings are secret.
In his government statement on July 6, Scholz said that the Iris systems should be delivered. He named them in line with the Panzerhaubitze 2000, which is already in use in Ukraine. "We will always continue along this line, you can rely on it," said the Chancellor in his Bundestag speech.
According to the report, Ukraine applied for funds from the federal government's "training aid". This is a pot that has been supporting countries such as Iraq, Jordan and Tunisia in building their armies since 2016. In April, the federal government had increased the funds to two billion euros and said that a large part of these should go to Ukraine. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said at the end of April that industrial deliveries to the country at war would be supported: "Ukraine orders and Germany pays."
But according to "Welt", Germany has not yet financed a single newly manufactured weapon from a German armaments factory. So far, the IRIS systems have not had any permits for either export or assumption of costs. This leads to delays, since production can only begin when both are available. The first copy should now only be delivered at the end of the year. Overall, a delivery period of four to five years is now being discussed.
