Despite its commitment, Germany has not yet delivered heavy military equipment such as anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine. But in the past three months, hundreds of millions of euros worth of light weapons have reached the war-torn country, including rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft missiles.
In the first three months of the Ukraine war, the federal government approved the delivery of weapons and other armaments worth 350.1 million euros to the country attacked by Russia. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection to a request from Left-wing MP Sevim Dagdelen.
From the first day of the war, February 24, to June 1, the government gave the go-ahead for the delivery of weapons of war for 219.8 million euros and other armaments such as helmets and protective vests for 85.2 million euros. In addition, there are weapons and equipment for the Bundeswehr for 45.1 million euros, which were approved in a simplified procedure from April 1st. There is no breakdown into weapons of war and other armaments for this. State Secretary Udo Philipp points out in the letter to Dagdelen that it is mostly used material from the Bundeswehr and that its “current value” has been calculated – not the sometimes significantly higher new value.
Two days after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the German government decided to deliver weapons to the war zone – breaking a taboo. Since then, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft missiles, fragmentation grenades and more than 20 million rounds of ammunition have arrived in Ukraine. Heavy weapons such as artillery pieces and anti-aircraft tanks have been promised but have not yet been delivered. By way of comparison, from the start of the war to June 1, the United States promised or delivered weapons and equipment worth $4.6 billion (€4.37 billion) to Ukraine, according to government figures. These include numerous heavy weapons, such as howitzers and multiple rocket launchers.
The left-wing politician Dagdelen called for more diplomatic efforts instead of arms deliveries. “Instead of arming Kyiv for a senseless prolongation of the war and feeding the illusion of a victorious peace over Russia, concrete diplomatic initiatives for a negotiated solution with security guarantees for all sides are required.”
