Sun, April 10, 2022
BERLIN (Reuters) - Ukraine has received an offer of a sizeable shipment of self-propelled howitzer weapons from a German armaments company, a German government source said on Sunday.
German weekly Welt am Sonntag had reported on Saturday that armaments manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann offered 100 howitzers, a type of artillery weapon, to Ukraine, quoting anonymous government sources in Kyiv.
"This offer exists," the German source said to Reuters, without providing further details.
The Welt am Sonntag report said that the manufacturer did not currently have the weaponry ready for delivery and so had suggested that Germany's military offer 100 of its own howitzers to Kyiv and the manufacturer would then deliver the new weapons to Germany's army once ready - likely from the second half of 2024
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann was not immediately available for comment. A spokesperson for the German defence ministry declined to comment.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Germany reversed its long-held policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones and said it would supply Strela missiles, among other arms, to Ukraine.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday it was important that Germany supply only weapons that Ukraine's army will know how to use, such as older equipment from the army of former Communist East Germany.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Germany ‘refused’ arms company’s offer to refurbish tanks to send to Ukraine
Jorg Luyken
Sun, April 10, 2022
Arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said 100 Marder tanks standing around in its factory could be made battle-ready for Ukraine - Jens Schlueter/Getty Images Europe
The German government is facing renewed criticism after it reportedly rejected an offer by an arms firm to repair 100 tanks to send to the Ukrainian front line.
Rheinmetall, an arms manufacturer, said 100 Marder tanks standing around in its factory could be made battle-ready, enabling the German armed forces to send an equivalent number of operative vehicles to Ukraine.
According to a report in Bild newspaper, the defence ministry responded that the decommissioned tanks would take too long to refurbish, leaving its own forces unable to meet their Nato obligations.
However, the ministry did not send anyone to inspect the tanks before refusing the offer, according to Bild.
“If it is true that the defence ministry has not yet even inspected the Marder tanks, then this is a scandal,” Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin Andrij Melnyk told the tabloid.
Mr Melnyk added that “Berlin is showing no urgency although this war of extermination by Russia against the Ukrainian population has been raging for 45 days.”
Kyiv is desperate for Germany to start delivering heavy weaponry as its outnumbered army prepares to face an intensified Russian offensive in the east.
The Ukrainians have identified the Marder, a light tank that is gradually being decommissioned by the Bundeswehr, as a suitable fix.
Germany's defence ministry said decommissioned tanks would take too long to repair - but Bild newspaper claimed the ministry did not send anyone to inspect the tanks before refusing the offer - Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe
The 100 tanks in question are currently parked on the premises of a Rheinmetall factory and the company has said that it could refurbish 20 of them within the next eight weeks and a further 50 within half a year.
Military experts have cautioned that it could take months before Ukraine’s mechanised infantry would be able to use the Marder tanks owing to the time it takes to re-train soldiers and the need to set up effective lines of logistics.
At the same time, the Marder’s speed and agility would potentially hand the Ukrainians a battlefield advantage over the more cumbersome Soviet-era BMP light tanks that the Russians rely on, experts say.
Military analysts have also questioned the defence ministry’s argument that sending 100 outdated tanks to Ukraine would damage Germany’s own defensive capabilities.
“If the German national defence could really fail because of a few missing Marder tanks, then we might as well shut up shop altogether,” Frank Sauer, an expert from the Bundeswehr Academy in Munich, told Spiegel magazine.
Germany still has 370 operational Marder tanks. The fighting vehicle was first introduced into the Bundeswehr’s arsenal half a century ago and was supposed to be largely replaced by the cutting-edge PUMA tank by 2020.
But production delays and technical issues have plagued the new tanks, meaning that German soldiers still rely heavily on the Marder during training exercises.
Berlin is facing increasing domestic anger over its sluggishness in supplying Ukraine with arms.
Die Welt newspaper declared at the weekend that Berlin’s pledge to support Ukraine militarily as part of a “new era” of defence strategy was “a fairytale”.
Soon after the Russian invasion started, Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave a historic Bundestag speech in which he said that Berlin would abandon its age-old refusal to deliver weapons to war zones, while also spending an extra €100 billion (£83 billion) on its own armed forces.
But six weeks on, Die Welt said that Mr Scholz was only interested in improving Germany’s own defensive capabilities.
Der Spiegel was also scathing, pointing out that Estonia had so far committed to more arms deliveries than Germany. The political magazine declared that Mr Scholz had “lost his political courage immediately after his Bundestag speech”.
The German Defence Ministry has refused to discuss specifics of its arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying that Kyiv has asked for secrecy in order to keep the Kremlin guessing about its exact capabilities - a claim that has been denied by the Ukrainians.
Kyiv has become increasingly frustrated at delays in decision making in Berlin, where requests for the delivery of specific military hardware often take weeks to receive an answer.
Up until now Berlin has delivered weapons with a value of €186 million (£155 million), mainly anti-tank and surface-to-air missiles.
Mr Scholz has insisted that the delays are due to the fact that Germany is determined to deliver weapons that will be of real benefit.
During a visit to London last week, he said that “we strive to provide weapons that are helpful and effective. We have done that in the past, we will continue to do that.”
Defending Berlin’s record, Mr Scholz added that “the successes that the Ukrainian army has achieved shows that the weapons that we have supplied are particularly effective.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted on Sunday that he had discussed possible additional sanctions on Russia in a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Mr Zelensky has called for an embargo on imported gas and oil from Russia, but Germany so far resisted pressure to do so.
Meanwhile, Pro-Russia protesters rallied in Germany demanding an end to discrimination they say they have been subjected to since the war began.
Pro-Russia supporters get a thumbs-down from an onlooker as they march through Frankfurt - YANN SCHREIBER
Around 600 people descended on Frankfurt on Sunday amid a sea of Russian flags.
Police threw up a large cordon to separate the protesters - marching behind a banner that read "Truth and diversity of opinion over PROPAGANDA" - from a pro-Ukraine counter-demonstration of around 100 people near the city's central banking district.
Germany is home to 1.2 million people of Russian origin and 325,000 from Ukraine. Authorities fear the conflict could be imported into Germany and the protests used to promote Moscow's war narrative.
Police have recorded 383 anti-Russian offences and 181 anti-Ukrainian offences since the Kremlin's invasion started on February 24.
Jorg Luyken
Sun, April 10, 2022
Arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said 100 Marder tanks standing around in its factory could be made battle-ready for Ukraine - Jens Schlueter/Getty Images Europe
The German government is facing renewed criticism after it reportedly rejected an offer by an arms firm to repair 100 tanks to send to the Ukrainian front line.
Rheinmetall, an arms manufacturer, said 100 Marder tanks standing around in its factory could be made battle-ready, enabling the German armed forces to send an equivalent number of operative vehicles to Ukraine.
According to a report in Bild newspaper, the defence ministry responded that the decommissioned tanks would take too long to refurbish, leaving its own forces unable to meet their Nato obligations.
However, the ministry did not send anyone to inspect the tanks before refusing the offer, according to Bild.
“If it is true that the defence ministry has not yet even inspected the Marder tanks, then this is a scandal,” Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin Andrij Melnyk told the tabloid.
Mr Melnyk added that “Berlin is showing no urgency although this war of extermination by Russia against the Ukrainian population has been raging for 45 days.”
Kyiv is desperate for Germany to start delivering heavy weaponry as its outnumbered army prepares to face an intensified Russian offensive in the east.
The Ukrainians have identified the Marder, a light tank that is gradually being decommissioned by the Bundeswehr, as a suitable fix.
Germany's defence ministry said decommissioned tanks would take too long to repair - but Bild newspaper claimed the ministry did not send anyone to inspect the tanks before refusing the offer - Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe
The 100 tanks in question are currently parked on the premises of a Rheinmetall factory and the company has said that it could refurbish 20 of them within the next eight weeks and a further 50 within half a year.
Military experts have cautioned that it could take months before Ukraine’s mechanised infantry would be able to use the Marder tanks owing to the time it takes to re-train soldiers and the need to set up effective lines of logistics.
At the same time, the Marder’s speed and agility would potentially hand the Ukrainians a battlefield advantage over the more cumbersome Soviet-era BMP light tanks that the Russians rely on, experts say.
Military analysts have also questioned the defence ministry’s argument that sending 100 outdated tanks to Ukraine would damage Germany’s own defensive capabilities.
“If the German national defence could really fail because of a few missing Marder tanks, then we might as well shut up shop altogether,” Frank Sauer, an expert from the Bundeswehr Academy in Munich, told Spiegel magazine.
Germany still has 370 operational Marder tanks. The fighting vehicle was first introduced into the Bundeswehr’s arsenal half a century ago and was supposed to be largely replaced by the cutting-edge PUMA tank by 2020.
But production delays and technical issues have plagued the new tanks, meaning that German soldiers still rely heavily on the Marder during training exercises.
Berlin is facing increasing domestic anger over its sluggishness in supplying Ukraine with arms.
Die Welt newspaper declared at the weekend that Berlin’s pledge to support Ukraine militarily as part of a “new era” of defence strategy was “a fairytale”.
Soon after the Russian invasion started, Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave a historic Bundestag speech in which he said that Berlin would abandon its age-old refusal to deliver weapons to war zones, while also spending an extra €100 billion (£83 billion) on its own armed forces.
But six weeks on, Die Welt said that Mr Scholz was only interested in improving Germany’s own defensive capabilities.
Der Spiegel was also scathing, pointing out that Estonia had so far committed to more arms deliveries than Germany. The political magazine declared that Mr Scholz had “lost his political courage immediately after his Bundestag speech”.
The German Defence Ministry has refused to discuss specifics of its arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying that Kyiv has asked for secrecy in order to keep the Kremlin guessing about its exact capabilities - a claim that has been denied by the Ukrainians.
Kyiv has become increasingly frustrated at delays in decision making in Berlin, where requests for the delivery of specific military hardware often take weeks to receive an answer.
Up until now Berlin has delivered weapons with a value of €186 million (£155 million), mainly anti-tank and surface-to-air missiles.
Mr Scholz has insisted that the delays are due to the fact that Germany is determined to deliver weapons that will be of real benefit.
During a visit to London last week, he said that “we strive to provide weapons that are helpful and effective. We have done that in the past, we will continue to do that.”
Defending Berlin’s record, Mr Scholz added that “the successes that the Ukrainian army has achieved shows that the weapons that we have supplied are particularly effective.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted on Sunday that he had discussed possible additional sanctions on Russia in a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Mr Zelensky has called for an embargo on imported gas and oil from Russia, but Germany so far resisted pressure to do so.
Meanwhile, Pro-Russia protesters rallied in Germany demanding an end to discrimination they say they have been subjected to since the war began.
Pro-Russia supporters get a thumbs-down from an onlooker as they march through Frankfurt - YANN SCHREIBER
Around 600 people descended on Frankfurt on Sunday amid a sea of Russian flags.
Police threw up a large cordon to separate the protesters - marching behind a banner that read "Truth and diversity of opinion over PROPAGANDA" - from a pro-Ukraine counter-demonstration of around 100 people near the city's central banking district.
Germany is home to 1.2 million people of Russian origin and 325,000 from Ukraine. Authorities fear the conflict could be imported into Germany and the protests used to promote Moscow's war narrative.
Police have recorded 383 anti-Russian offences and 181 anti-Ukrainian offences since the Kremlin's invasion started on February 24.
No comments:
Post a Comment