Ukraine has the first anti-aircraft tanks of the type cheetah received from Germany. “The first three cheetahs officially arrived today,” Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Ukrainian television on Monday. Several tens of thousands of shots were also handed over. Twelve more Gepard tanks are expected. The delivery is based on an agreement with Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) in May. Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion since late February and has repeatedly urged to strengthen its own air defenses.
Lambrecht had agreed in May with her Ukrainian counterpart that Ukraine would deliver the first 15 anti-aircraft gun tanks in July cheetah should be obtained from stocks of German industry. After a struggle for the delivery of heavy weapons, the manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann had received the political green light from the federal government to sell the technically refurbished anti-aircraft tanks from former Bundeswehr stocks. Of the cheetah can also be used in combat against ground targets.
It is the second shipment of heavy weapons that Germany has handed over to Ukraine. In June, the German government had already delivered heavy artillery pieces to Ukraine in the form of the Panzerhaubitze 2000. The Panzerhaubitze is the Bundeswehr’s most modern artillery piece with a range of 40 kilometers. At that time, Ukraine received a total of seven guns. Next to the cheetahs However, Ukraine is primarily waiting for the modern Iris-T air defense systems from Germany. These should better protect the country from Russian missile attacks. However, the Iris-T is reportedly not scheduled to arrive until the fall.
In Germany, the delivery of battle tanks and armored personnel carriers to the Ukraine is currently being discussed. So far, the direct delivery of these has not been an option for the federal government. From the ranks of the Greens and the FDP, however, corresponding demands have now come because there are problems with the so-called ring exchange for the supply of Ukraine with heavy weapons.
FDP expert Strack-Zimmermann: “Time is of the essence”
The Chairwoman of the Defense Committee of the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), admitted that the Eastern European allies could not be equipped with replacements for their arms deliveries to Ukraine as quickly as expected. “If that is problematic for the partners, we should stop the ring exchange and deliver directly to Ukraine – possibly also the (main battle tank) leopard 2 Time is pressing,” said Strack-Zimmermann of the German Press Agency. At the weekend, Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt from the Greens was open to direct tank deliveries to Ukraine.
The idea of ring exchange arose shortly after the start of the war. To this end, Eastern NATO partners should provide weapons of Soviet design that Ukrainian soldiers can handle without additional training. As a replacement, they were to receive western makes from alliance partners such as Germany.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser announced on Monday in Hostomel near Kyiv that Germany wants to strengthen cooperation with Ukraine in investigating Russian war crimes. The existing cooperation with the Federal Criminal Police Office should be expanded, said the SPD politician, who was in Ukraine together with Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (also SPD). Heil announced “administrative advice and help” – for example for Ukrainians who lost their jobs as a result of the war. “This war is not only a humanitarian crisis and a massive military conflict, but also a wartime economic crisis.”