BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – In rare unanimity, the coalition and the opposition Union want to support Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, with heavy weapons. In the Bundestag, they want to jointly decide on a corresponding application this Thursday. Changes to the motion by the SPD, Greens and FDP meant that the CDU and CSU were willing to withdraw their own more extensive motion.
Union faction leader Friedrich Merz also warned of an outbidding competition on the issue. “We all don’t take it lightly with the decision to also deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine to support the Ukrainian army,” he said on Wednesday. The compromise was also about “that we don’t outdo each other here on the question of which weapons should be supplied”. It was about the fundamental decision that Germany, like other European countries and the USA, would support Ukraine in self-defense to the best of its ability.
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai sees this as a “strong sign”. “In the end we will find common solutions successfully,” he told the “Passauer Neue Presse” (Thursday). The federal government had expressed solidarity with Ukraine from the start. “But the coalition consists of three different partners, and sometimes their ideas are just as different. We Free Democrats said very early on that words alone won’t do the trick.” He was obviously alluding to the fact that there had been resistance in the ranks of the SPD to the delivery of heavy weapons.
After some hesitation and some international criticism, the government announced on Tuesday the delivery of a heavy weapon system, the anti-aircraft tank Gepard. That too may have contributed to the agreement with the Union.
What is in the joint application:
Among other things, the Federal Government is called upon to
– to support the efforts to reach a ceasefire in the interests of the Ukrainians and, if necessary, to be ready to ensure its observance with the EU and NATO partners
– to “continue and, where possible, accelerate the delivery of equipment and at the same time expand the delivery to include heavy weapons and complex systems, for example as part of the ring exchange, without endangering Germany’s ability to defend the alliance”
– “To check whether further weapons can be handed over and to actively approach other countries to offer them a ring exchange”
– to support training on delivered weapon systems “in Germany or on NATO territory”.
– to close any equipment gaps in the Bundeswehr as quickly as possible.
What Germany wants to do specifically:
– Cheetah: The Bundeswehr has not had the weapon system for ten years. But the armaments company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann still has a middle two-digit number, for the sale of which the government has now given the green light. However, ammunition must first be purchased, and talks are being held with Brazil. The training of Ukrainian trainers is to take place in Germany.
– Ring exchange: Slovenia is to sell a larger number of battle tanks of the Soviet T-72 design to the Ukraine and in return receive the Marder infantry fighting vehicle and the Fuchs wheeled tank from Germany.
– Mörser: Scholz said that a list of quickly deliverable military equipment had been drawn up with German industry and discussed with Ukraine. He called the grenade launchers with a range of 6 kilometers.
– Training: Germany wants to train Ukrainian soldiers in the use of the Panzerhaubitze 2000. The gun, which has a range of 40 kilometers, is to be delivered from the Netherlands to Ukraine.
What else could be done:
– The Düsseldorf group Rheinmetall has applied to the federal government for approval of the delivery of 88 used Leopard main battle tanks.
– Another Rheinmetall application relates to 100 martens.
– According to “Welt”, the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann group has applied to be allowed to deliver 100 Panzerhaubitzen 2000.
What has already been done:
– Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has received a good 2,500 anti-aircraft missiles, 900 anti-tank rocket launchers with 3,000 rounds of ammunition, 100 machine guns and 15 bunker launchers with 50 rockets from Germany. There are also 100,000 hand grenades, 2,000 mines, around 5,300 explosive charges and more than 16 million rounds of ammunition for small arms, from assault rifles to heavy machine guns. (as of April 21)
The deputy leader of the Union faction, Johann Wadephul (CDU), complained that the first step would be to deliver Leopard 1 main battle tanks instead of the cheetahs. Leopard-1 or Marder would have been “much more effective and necessary,” he told RTL/ntv on Wednesday evening. “The cheetah is the most complex weapon system that we had in the army. It takes at least six months to train the soldiers on it. That means it’s of relatively little help to Ukraine in the short term.” And: “That’s why the federal government is clearly asked to take further steps now.”/and/DP/zb