While the Russians are retreating in eastern Ukraine, the traffic light government is coming under pressure because of requests from Kyiv for main battle tanks. Defense Minister Lambrecht and Chancellor Scholz justify the German no with the negative position of other countries.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has distanced herself from the Ukrainian government’s demand for the delivery of western main battle tanks. At a meeting of the so-called Ukraine contact group in Ramstein last week, she spoke to her US colleague Lloyd Austin about it and did not notice any change of course, as she made clear in a discussion of the German Society for Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin. “At least I didn’t have this perception that there was a rethinking in the USA,” said Lambrecht.
“No country has yet delivered western-style armored personnel carriers or main battle tanks, and we have agreed, also with our partners, that we will not go it alone by Germans,” Lambrecht said at the event. She spoke of a “constant exchange” in which Germany is sticking to agreements.
On Sunday evening, the US ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann, cautiously spoke out in favor of more German support for Kyiv. She welcomes and admires what the Germans are doing for Ukraine, Gutmann said on ZDF. “Nevertheless, my expectations of Germany are even higher.” Germany wants to take on a greater leadership role here. “We hope and expect that Germany will do the same.” And: “We have to do everything we are able to do,” she said, but when asked several times she avoided specifying whether Germany should deliver more heavy weapons.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said in the afternoon that he would continue to rely on artillery and anti-aircraft defenses for military support to Ukraine. Scholz dodged the question about the provision of Western battle tanks requested by the Ukrainian government. It “remains with the attitude that the German government has taken from the beginning and which will also be our attitude for the future, namely that there are no German solo efforts,” said Scholz.
Germany has supported Ukraine very comprehensively and together with allies. “We also delivered very efficient weapons that are making the difference in the current battle,” said Scholz, who appeared in front of the press with Israeli Prime Minister Jair Lapid. Scholz called the Gepard anti-aircraft vehicle, the Panzerhaubitze 2000, multiple rocket launchers and the IRIS-T anti-aircraft system.
SPD leader Saskia Esken did not rule out the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine, but insisted on international coordination. “Going it alone is out of the question, and it should stay that way,” she said in Braunschweig in the afternoon. Support for Ukraine in the Russian war of aggression has always changed in line with military developments in recent months. “The weapons deliveries in the first few weeks were of a different quality than those of the last few weeks. In this respect, there is a constant development,” she said.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert had already dampened expectations of German tank deliveries to Ukraine in the morning. “But we do support the exchange of rings with our Eastern European partners,” said Kühnert on RTL/ntv. The statement “that we don’t want to be gradually drawn into the war, that we don’t want to encourage Russia to act completely irrationally in the end and attack completely different states” still applies. This is an important aspect of the debate. And this aspect must always be considered – “with all hot hearts”.
The outgoing Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, reacted with horror to Kühnert’s statements. “This catastrophic policy of refusal by the SPD and the traffic light to let Ukraine down militarily at this critical moment will have devastating consequences for the future. My goodness,” Melnyk tweeted.
Unlike the SPD, politicians from the Greens and FPD spoke out in favor of delivering heavy weapons to Ukraine at the weekend. The Union also advocated increased support for the Ukrainian advance.
