Kyiv is losing patience – and is now buying weapons in Germany itself
“Ukraine needs defensive weapons that are easy to use”
“Practically, you can’t just deliver tanks and expect to be able to use them immediately,” says Wolfgang Richter, former Colonel, on Zelenskyj’s demand for more weapons. Defensive weapons are now the decisive factor in combating Russian air superiority.
For weeks, the federal government explored whether and which weapons could be supplied to Ukraine, claiming that the Bundeswehr warehouses were empty. Until Kyiv took action itself and ordered 2650 anti-tank weapons. And suddenly Berlin moved too.
AIn view of the German government’s hesitant attitude, Ukraine has now taken matters into its own hands to supply weapons from Germany. According to information from WELT AM SONNTAG, Kyiv bought 2,650 anti-tank weapons in Germany with its own money and had the export approved. This was confirmed by several people familiar with the process.
By then, the federal government had been examining unsuccessfully for weeks whether weapons from German manufacturers should be bought and passed on to Ukraine. The European Union has now made one billion euros available for member states to buy weapons for Ukraine.
According to the information, the weapons bought by Kyiv are anti-tank weapons of the RGW 90 type. The system, manufactured by the German defense contractor Dynamit Nobel Defense (DND) in Burbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, is a type of rocket-propelled grenade that can be fired from the shoulder without recoil .
On March 18, DND submitted an export application to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) at the request of Ukraine. The office, which falls under the responsibility of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), approved the export over the weekend.
An RGW 90 tank gun
Source: DND
The Federal Security Council was therefore involved as required, with the other ministries agreeing in a circulation procedure. The weapons have now left the camp for Ukraine. The Ukrainian action was a reaction to Berlin’s reluctance to provide arms aid for weeks.
According to information from industry circles, the federal government asked around 280 German armaments companies on February 28 which weapons they could supply to Ukraine. To date, however, no brand-new weapons have been purchased by the federal government.
In the days after the Ukrainian purchasing push, new weapons from Bundeswehr stocks suddenly arrived in Ukraine. As WELT AM SONNTAG learned from Ukrainian government circles, 1,500 more Strela rockets were handed over to Ukraine on Friday. 100 MG3 machine guns with five million rounds of ammunition had already been delivered in the days before. Also another three million rounds of ammunition of other calibers.
In addition to helmets and protective vests, as well as a dozen armored vehicles, Germany had previously delivered 1,000 Stinger and Strela anti-aircraft weapons and 1,000 rocket-propelled grenades from Bundeswehr stocks. Ukraine regularly emphasizes that one-man shoulder weapons play the crucial role in resisting the attack from Russia.
A burnt-out military vehicle after fighting in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine
Source: dpa
In addition, it had already become known on Wednesday that 2,000 more rocket-propelled grenades from Bundeswehr stocks were to be delivered. There are many indications that only Ukraine going it alone led to a new movement in Berlin.
Fighting in Ukraine continued unabated on Friday. According to the Ukrainian general staff, some Russian units in the north-east withdrew behind the border. They said they had suffered heavy losses. The information was not independently verifiable.
At their special summits in Brussels, NATO, the G7 and the EU called for a ceasefire from Russia and condemned the continued attacks. They also warned of a chemical, nuclear or biological attack in Ukraine. In its statement, NATO called serious consequences for such an operation and activated its NBC defense units.
She also announced the deployment of four more combat groups in the NATO states of Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. The Alliance’s cyber capabilities are also to be expanded. US President Joe Biden flew from Brussels to Poland on Friday, where he met US soldiers in Rzeszow, about a hundred kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Later he should meet with the head of state Andrzej Duda.