Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is accompanied by great expectations on his trip to Ukraine – especially with regard to arms deliveries. The long-announced visit, which was postponed several times after diplomatic scandals and security concerns, is not just symbolic politics. Ukraine is still very specifically hoping that Germany will deliver weapons that can also be used for counterattacks marten-Troop Transporter and Leopard-2-Battle tank. It doesn’t matter that Steinmeier can’t even hand it out on his own. As the German head of state, he is naturally confronted with such expectations.
From a military point of view, Ukraine’s demands for offensive weapons are by no means excessive. If the Ukrainian army wants to continue its counter-offensive, which has been quite successful so far, then it needs weapons and vehicles that offer troops protection and still enable rapid advances. The current situation in the Donbass and near the city of Cherson should show that the Ukrainian army is lacking in this. In the Donbass, the conquest of which Moscow has declared as one of its top priorities, the two armies have been facing each other in more or less static artillery battles for weeks. The Russian army has concentrated a large part of its troops in Ukraine here, and the mercenaries of the “Wagner Group” are also active here. This concentration of Russian soldiers and artillery appears to pose a major challenge for the Ukrainian army.
In the south, Ukrainian forces have been trying for months to disrupt Russian supply lines to the occupied city of Kherson in order to force the occupiers to withdraw. Although the Russian army does seem to have major logistical problems in the region, they clearly want to hold the city for as long as possible. For their part, the Ukrainians will try to delay an attack for as long as possible. Battles in cities can be costly and unpredictable.
The President promises new deliveries – of defensive weapons
In both cases, according to the expectations of Ukraine and some experts, Western weapon systems could make a decisive difference, especially battle tanks. As is already the case with the Himars-missile systems that allow Ukraine to hit Russian depots far behind the front lines.
In addition to military necessities, time is of the essence. In autumn and spring, the muddy Ukrainian fields do not allow advances with tanks and other heavy equipment. In winter, frozen ground is theoretically passable, but the cold and the recently severely damaged infrastructure will make larger offensives difficult, if not impossible.
In the German presidential office, of course, they know that there are high expectations when it comes to rapid arms deliveries. Steinmeier therefore promised military aid again on Tuesday. However, he spoke of defensive weapons to protect people from “the insidious attacks of Russian missiles and kamikaze drones”.