Germany supplied Ukraine with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft missiles. Whether tanks and artillery will follow has not yet been decided. What is wrong with the decision?
Ukrainian forces are in a race against time to repel the Russian attack. The delivery of heavy weapons is correspondingly vehemently demanded.
The federal government still does not say what it thinks about it. The provision of two billion euros for armaments aid also leaves the question open as to what is to be purchased with it.
What is meant by heavy weapons?
There is no clear-cut boundary between light and heavy weapons in everyday language. The benchmark could be the diameter of the ammunition (“caliber”), which is important for the effect, or the question of whether the weapon can still be carried on the body (“bazooka”) or at least on a chassis (“artillery gun”). must be mounted.
More precise definitions became necessary when, after a war, the defeated state was forbidden to rearmament or when alliances of states agreed on arms control. In 1990, the CFE Treaty (Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe) set upper limits for the number of heavy weapon systems and named five categories: main battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft and combat helicopters. Although not included here, warships can also be counted in this category.
What has Germany delivered to Ukraine so far?
The federal government has been silent for some time about the arms deliveries to Ukraine. Even parliamentarians can only find out about it from the Secret Protection Office of the Bundestag and then have to keep their findings to themselves. In the first days of the war it was different. That is why it is known that Germany has supplied Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, protective vests, helmets, night vision goggles and armored vehicles. Nothing is known about the provision of heavy weapons from Germany.
What does Ukraine want from Germany?
In February, the Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk presented the German government with a wish list containing almost every heavy weapon system imaginable – from warships to battle tanks to combat aircraft. The Ukrainians are now particularly targeting tanks, artillery, air defense systems, fighter jets and anti-ship missiles.
What are the arguments against the delivery of heavy weapons?
Probably the most important security policy argument is the fear that Germany and NATO could become warring parties. This concern has been voiced several times, culminating in warnings that such a conflict could escalate into nuclear war.
What are the arguments for this?
NATO experts warn that after a victory in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin could also attack other neighboring states, including Moldova and the Baltic states. From this follows the logic that Ukraine is fighting with the resistance against the Russian attack «also for us». Your right to self-defense is fully recognized.
What is the status of the discussion in the coalition?
The Greens and the FDP have spoken out in favor of the delivery of heavy weapons. The SPD is divided. Left-wing politicians have spoken out against it. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth (SPD), is one of the supporters. And Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has not yet made a decision.
Why does the federal government not want to supply weapons to the Bundeswehr?
The German armaments industry has a whole range of used weapon systems in storage that it would like to sell but has not yet reworked to be ready for use. These include Marder armored personnel carriers from the Rheinmetall armory. The proposal: the Bundeswehr could submit, provide Ukraine with heavy weapons and, after a waiting period, receive outdated equipment in return. So far there has been no agreement on this, but there has been greater resistance because the material is needed for the operational capability of the Bundeswehr.
Could the Ukrainians handle German Leopard and Marder tanks at all?
There are different statements about this. The German side refers to extensive training for such “posts”. Ukraine does not accept this and wants training and commitments now if possible, in order to have firepower and protected movement on the battlefield in a few months. It is about soldiers of the Panzertruppe who could transfer their knowledge to the new device. What remains: Spare parts and maintenance work are required for the operation of the tanks.
What will happen to the two billion euros for the so-called upgrading initiative?
On Good Friday, it was surprisingly announced that the federal government was topping up the money pot for armaments aid abroad from 225 million to two billion euros this year. A large part of this is earmarked for Ukraine. The traffic light government has yet to formulate the details of the proposal. In principle, the point is that the Ukrainian government can use German money to order exactly the weapons it needs – in Germany or internationally. A key question here: How quickly can the money be made available or deliveries promised.
What are the allies delivering?
“We deliver weapons that everyone else also delivers,” says Scholz. The problem with this statement is that there is obviously no longer a unified NATO line. According to reports, the Czech Republic is said to have launched several dozen Soviet-designed T-72 tanks and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles. The United States announced last week that it would quickly deliver 11 Russian-design Mi-17 helicopters, 200 M113 armored personnel carriers and 18 155-millimeter field howitzers with 40,000 artillery shells to Ukraine – all of which can be classified as heavy weapons .
Source: Stern
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