More than half of Germans oppose supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine

Mariupol city is at the center of the Russian-Ukrainian war – Photo: REUTERS

According to a recent opinion poll, more than 50% of German respondents are against the transfer of heavy weapons to Ukraine while only 43% say they agree.

The opinion poll, organized by the German Institute for Answers to Social Affairs (INSA) at the request of Germans, showed a marked change from a similar poll previously conducted by the German Research Institute. Social and Statistical Analysis German organization Forsa.

According to a Forsa poll, 51% of respondents support the delivery of offensive weapons to Ukraine, while only 37% of respondents oppose this.

According to Radio Russia Today On April 23, a group of German politicians and public figures warned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that further German military aid to Ukraine will only make the war situation in Ukraine impossible to escalate. control and prolong the suffering of those caught up in this war.

In particular, they warned against supplying arms to Ukraine, Germany and other NATO countries that “have practically made themselves a party to the war”.

Regarding comments in German political circles calling for the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine, Chancellor Scholz stated that “we can only give what we have and can” to Ukraine. However, according to the German leader, the federal army’s current options are to supply additional weapons from largely depleted arsenals.

In addition, since the Ukrainian army must also be able to use the new military equipment, there is no need for lengthy training, no additional logistics, no need for foreign troops, and therefore the fastest way is to transfer weapons in stockpiles from the former Soviet Union.

Earlier, Scholz also said that the German military declared that it could no longer supply weapons to Ukraine due to the fact that its arsenal was exhausted. However, Scholz added that German officials were working with the country’s arms manufacturers to secure further deliveries.

Last week, the German government also announced a military aid plan of more than 1 billion euros to Ukraine. The aid will be included in the German supplementary budget this year.