Olaf Scholz probably doesn’t know how often he’s already said that. “Three clear principles” are followed when it comes to military support for Ukraine, he repeats again and again. “Firstly, we are supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. Secondly, we are preventing a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. And thirdly, Germany will not go it alone,” he confirmed again recently in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung. It is his consistent answer to all questions about more military support for Ukraine, especially about the type of main battle tanks urgently requested by the government in Kyiv leopard 2.
That sounds like begging, but the Scholz rule of three also has an interesting downside. If the US supplied battle tanks, the argument of going it alone would no longer apply. In the Chancellery it is known that Germany is committed to the delivery of Leopard-2– Panzers could then hardly escape. For this reason alone, the spectacular trip to Washington by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is of particular importance for the German government. Anything Zelenskiy can achieve in the United States, by far Ukraine’s most important supporter, will have an impact in Berlin too.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit described the fact that Selensky was able to leave Ukraine and start the journey to the USA as a “very good, hopeful sign 301 days after the Russian attack on Ukraine”. Also the delivery of announced hours before his arrival in Washington Patriot-Hebestreit welcomed air defense systems from the USA on behalf of the federal government. The delivery had been discussed with close allies such as Germany. However, this does not mean, Hebestreit also made it clear, that Germany is now too Patriot-batteries will deliver.
On the one hand, the Federal Government points out that it has already done a lot for Ukraine in this area. The highly effective German system, highly praised by Ukraine, is deployed against Russian air terror Iris-T SLM. Three more of these systems are to be delivered next year. The list of German military support also includes 30 anti-aircraft tanks of the type cheetah including about 6000 shots of anti-aircraft ammunition. Seven more of these tanks are to follow.
The three Patriot-Batteries of the Bundeswehr, which are now being used to protect Poland’s eastern border, were the last “still available”, argued Hebestreit on the other hand. The decision against patriot– Deliveries to Ukraine are not fundamental, but “specific”. However, the government spokesman indicated that Ukrainian soldiers could be trained on the system in Germany. That will happen “possibly in Europe and even more possibly in Germany”. Nothing has yet been decided by the United States.
The no to the delivery of battle tanks of the type remains less concrete than in principle leopard 2. Hebestreit repeated the Scholz rule of three and emphasized that not a single main battle tank of “Western provenance” had been delivered to the Ukraine. However, he admitted that it was a “highly dynamic event”. Incidentally, nothing is known so far about a possible trip by the Ukrainian President to Berlin, but of course “the Ukrainian President is very welcome in Germany”.