The Ministry of Defense of Germany and NATO cannot resolve the issue of the supply of military equipment to Ukraine, which causes criticism in the Bundestag. On Saturday, May 28, reports RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.
The publication says that some statements of the alliance and the German defense department contradict each other. Such “chaos” caused discontent among the deputies of the Bundestag.
Thus, Zimtje Meller, State Secretary of the German Ministry of Defense, noted that Berlin and NATO adhere to a common position on refusing to transfer certain types of weapons to Kyiv. At the same time, the North Atlantic bloc previously provided the member countries with the opportunity to independently decide on military assistance to Ukraine.
Meller’s words confirm media reports about some “informal” NATO agreement on limited support for the armed forces of Ukraine (AFU) for reasons of international security. It is assumed that the West does not intend to supply weapons to the conflict zone that could provoke a direct confrontation with Russia.
In turn, some German politicians criticized the State Secretary’s speech, noting that her speech indicates “ignorance or incompetence”, and her actions cause “surprise and irritation.”
Earlier on Saturday, it became known that over the past nine weeks, the German government has reduced the supply of weapons to Ukraine “to a minimum”. It is noted that Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused direct deliveries of heavy weapons. At the same time, he promised to provide the countries of Eastern Europe with new German weapons in exchange for old Soviet weapons that the Ukrainian military could use without additional training.
Prior to this, on May 11, Germany announced that it would supply Ukraine with modern tanks and howitzers and, in parallel, would begin training of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). It was assumed that the deliveries from would be completed before the end of training, so that when the howitzers arrived, the soldiers were ready for it. At the same time, on May 1, information appeared that the inhabitants of Germany had signed a petition to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with a call not to supply heavy weapons to Kyiv.
It is known that Moscow condemns the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian side. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted, the North Atlantic Alliance is entering into a proxy war with Russia, supplying weapons to Kyiv. He noted that Western weapons supplied to the country would be a legitimate target for the Russian military.
Arms deliveries to Ukraine have increased against the backdrop of a special operation to protect the Donbass, the beginning of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24. The situation in the region escalated in mid-February due to shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been carrying out a military operation against the residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état in Ukraine.