Germany and the Netherlands supply more howitzers to Ukraine. Berlin is going to the absolute limit of what is feasible – but it is responsible, says Defense Minister Lambrecht.
Together, Germany and the Netherlands will deliver six more Panzerhaubitze 2000 models to Ukraine. That’s what Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht and her Dutch counterpart Kasja Ollongren said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid. This means that Ukraine will now receive a total of 18 weapons systems – a large enough number for a complete artillery battalion.
“These three, which we are now handing over from Germany – I’m going to the absolute limit of what is responsible. But it is responsible because Ukraine must be supported now,” said Lambrecht. Referring to the ongoing Russian attacks, Ollongren said: “Ukraine really needs to know that we can help them.”
So far, Germany had delivered seven of the self-propelled howitzers, the Netherlands five. The Ukrainian army is increasingly coming under pressure, especially in the east of the country, mainly because of the material superiority of the attackers.
Lambrecht had already announced in the Bundestag that after the delivery of the twelve German-Dutch self-propelled howitzers, further weapon systems would follow. She named the Mars II multiple rocket launcher, of which Germany and Great Britain each wanted to supply three systems and the USA four. The training of Ukrainians on the rocket launcher is scheduled to begin in June.
The Panzerhaubitze 2000 is the Bundeswehr’s most modern artillery piece. It can hit targets 40 kilometers away. The Bundeswehr currently has such guns stationed in Lithuania to protect NATO’s eastern flank. The Bundeswehr recently trained Ukrainian soldiers at the artillery school in Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. The training is now complete. Almost four months after the start of the war, the first heavy weapons from Germany had arrived in the Ukraine in the form of these artillery pieces last week.
