Germany wants Ukraine to buy its own weapons with EU aid money

According to the news site Thenationalnews.com on March 21, Germany said that Ukraine will buy its own weapons with the amount of 1 billion euros (1.1 billion USD) supported by its European neighbors, in the context of a crisis. There are mixed signals about arms shipments going directly to Ukraine.

Speaking while attending a meeting in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the 27 members of the European Union (EU) were ready to assist, noting that Ukraine needed more military equipment related to conflict with Russia.

According to Ms Baerbock, this money will be aided so that “Ukraine can buy its own weapons or countries that continue to supply weapons will be supported”.

Earlier, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced that direct aid shipments from the German armed forces had run out.

This month, the German government agreed to send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 surface-to-air missiles from its army to Ukraine, as well as approving arms exports.

However, a report by Die Welt newspaper said that German government deliveries were not as expected, with only 500 of the 2,700 Strela missiles committed to Ukraine actually being delivered by early March 2022.

German officials declined to comment on such details on the grounds that the shipments could be targets for Russian air strikes in Ukraine, a warning that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued last week.

“We’re not going to talk about it in public because it’s about life and death,” Ms. Baerbock said.

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many NATO countries have sent weapons to Ukraine without crossing the red line of the US-led Alliance that their armed forces must not interfere in the war. with Russia.

Kiev has failed to convince NATO to establish a no-fly zone to deter Russian attacks, but has described air defense systems like the Soviet-era S-300 as an alternative if that’s not possible. blockade the sky.