Germany unexpectedly reduces arms supplies to Ukraine

Germany reduces military support to Ukraine

During the period from March 30 to May 26, Virtue made only two arms deliveries to Kiev, the US-based Insider reported on May 31, citing an initial report by the German daily Die Welt am Sonntag. Both newspapers are owned by the pro-NATO German media group Axel Springer.

According to Insider, Germany has reduced military support to Ukraine in the past few weeks, even as Kiev increased its offer of heavy weapons to fight Russia. According to Insider, the arms reduction is said to have taken place before the three-way phone call on May 28, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin warned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron that sending more weapons to Ukraine would cause “additional instability”.

According to Die Welt newspaper, Chancellor Scholz not only refused to send German tanks and armored vehicles, but also “barely offered any light weapons worth mentioning”. Asked for comment, the German Defense Ministry said it could not provide details on the matter because “information about specific arms deliveries is classified security information”.

Speaking in Brussels on May 31, Chancellor Scholz announced a “swap” agreement with Greece under which Athens would receive refurbished German infantry fighting vehicles in return for Athens sending some infantry fighting vehicle BMP former East German to Kiev. The Greek opposition opposes the deal.

Berlin has yet to accept Kiev’s request for Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Insider reported, citing government documents owned by Die Welt. The Pentagon confirmed on May 23, Denmark has agreed to supply Ukraine with this type of missile.

Chancellor Scholz has repeatedly emphasized to German media that he supports Ukraine but does not want to see Germany and NATO directly drawn into the conflict with Ukraine. Russia. In April, he explained that Germany could not send more weapons to Ukraine because Berlin’s stockpile was exhausted, but said Germany would pay the country’s arms industry to send refurbished equipment to Ukraine. Kiev.

However, the US request for Ukraine to buy some Spike anti-tank missiles, manufactured in Germany under Israeli license, failed due to objections from Tel Aviv. The first German heavy vehicles – 15 of the retired Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles – will arrive in Ukraine in July.

Germany spends 100 billion euros to modernize its army

May 30, Prime Minister Olaf Scholz Germany plans to invest 100 billion euros ($107.35 billion) in its military to significantly expand its combat force, told local media on May 30. This investment will make the German army the largest in Europe among NATO members.

Earlier, on the evening of May 29 local time, the government of Prime Minister Scholz and the opposition agreed to approve an agreement to create a special fund of 100 billion euros to strengthen and modernize the army. This money will be provided from additional debt and is outside the national budget.

Because of the violation of the government’s debt limit enshrined in the constitution, Chancellor Scholz’s government needed the consent of the opposition to gather two-thirds of the votes in parliament to pass the amendment. constitutional change. The agreement was approved by parliament after weeks of difficult negotiations between the parties.

Chancellor Scholz praised the approval of the agreement on Twitter, saying that the investment would transform the German army into a fighting force “that can fulfill its defense duties better than ever before”. Prime Minister Scholz proposed the creation of this special fund three days after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

Germany currently has the fourth largest military force among NATO members. Countries NATO with the largest armies are the US and Turkey – two non-European countries. Germany will need to surpass France in military size to fulfill Chancellor Scholz’s pledge. According to the Global Firepower Index, France has 240,000 active and reserve troops, compared with 199,000 for Germany.