frank Haun, head of Europe’s largest tank builder Krauss-Maffei Nexter, sees the Bundeswehr as only partially ready to defend itself. The war in Ukraine has shown that we need the Bundeswehr, he said to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung“. But she was “squeezed like a lemon in the past few years. We shouldn’t think that if we just pump in 100 billion euros worth of fruit juice, the leftover will become a lemon again.”
The Bundeswehr is currently lacking everything, “above all rocket and barrel artillery”, that is the lesson to be learned from the war in Ukraine. For Haun, the 100 billion euro special fund decided by the government can only be the beginning of the retrofitting of the Bundeswehr.
All developments in the live ticker:
09:43 – Moscow rejects criticism of military cooperation with Iran
Russia has denied Western accusations that Iran is supplying it with weapons. “The military-industrial complex in Russia can work perfectly and does not need anyone’s support,” said Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebensia on Friday (local time) in New York. In contrast, Ukraine basically has no military industry at all and is supported by the West.
The US government had previously said that Russia and Iran were expanding their defense cooperation into a defense partnership. Iran delivered drones to Russia over the summer and is considering selling hundreds of ballistic missiles, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. He cannot say why a corresponding contract has not yet been concluded. Moscow and Tehran are also considering building a drone manufacturing facility in Russia for the Ukraine war
09:26 am – Germany is sending tens of thousands of woolen blankets to Ukraine as winter aid
Germany is supporting Ukraine with tens of thousands of blankets in the face of the winter cold. “Welt am Sonntag” reported that 36,400 woolen blankets from the Bundeswehr stocks were being sent to Ukraine as winter aid. The used blankets were therefore discarded and initially handed over to Vebeg GmbH, a state trust company controlled by the Federal Ministry of Finance, for auction.
09:20 am – Defense Commissioner Högl: Modernization of the Bundeswehr too slow
In the opinion of the Bundestag Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, the planned modernization of the Bundeswehr is not progressing fast enough. The SPD politician pointed out on Saturday on Deutschlandfunk that Russia’s war against Ukraine and the situation of the Bundeswehr required modernization. There is also enough money and a majority in the Bundestag and society. “That’s why unfortunately it’s not going fast enough.”
At the end of February, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced a special pot of 100 billion euros in the Bundestag after the Russian attack on the neighboring country to modernize the Bundeswehr. The current procedures and processes are too sluggish and do not fit the term “a turning point,” said Högl. The money cannot be invested with the previous procurement structures. It has to be fundamentally rethought.
06:01 – Peace researcher: de-escalation of the Ukraine war necessary
According to peace researcher Christine Schweitzer, Western countries should use the sanctions against Russia more as a means of pressure to end the Ukraine war. They should announce a lifting of the measures in the event of a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory, the director of the Federation for Social Defense told the Evangelisches Pressedienst in Minden. If those close to Russian President Vladimir Putin were given the prospect of being able to travel and trade freely again, this could bring about changes in the system of government in Russia.
04:39 am – Warning of new arms shipments from Iran to Russia
London and Washington have both warned of new arms deliveries from Iran to Russia. Washington immediately announced new sanctions against Moscow. In addition to ballistic missiles, Russia is also to receive drones from Iran – the energy infrastructure in Ukraine was recently attacked and severely damaged with drones of this type. Because of this damage, the Ukrainians must already be prepared for a harsh winter with many power cuts.
The US government warns of increasing Iranian support for the Russian military and is therefore announcing new sanctions. “We are imposing costs on the actors involved in the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia for use in Ukraine,” National Security Council communications director John Kirby said on Friday. According to the US government, the sanctions are aimed at the Russian air and space forces, a state center for unmanned aviation and the command of military transport aviation. According to consistent reports, Iran had already sent drones to Russia in August, which can be used, for example, to attack military objects such as radar systems and artillery.
1:03 a.m. – Nahles praises the willingness of Ukrainian refugees to integrate
Employment agency boss Andrea Nahles (SPD) has confirmed that refugees from Ukraine have a great will to integrate in Germany. “According to our experience, the willingness of the Ukrainian refugees to integrate is high,” Nahles told the newspapers of the Funke media group. 59,000 refugees now have a job that is subject to social security contributions, and another 18,000 have a mini job. 116,000 are currently taking integration courses. A good 600,000 Ukrainian refugees have been registered at the job centers since the outbreak of war, including 200,000 children.
One problem when looking for a job is the language. The refugees from the Ukraine were “mostly” found in low-skilled jobs, since they often had little or no German language skills. “According to our surveys, around 15 percent of the Ukrainian refugees speak some German, but they often don’t speak English,” said the former Federal Minister of Labor.
12:15 a.m. – No problem going it alone: USA for German tank deliveries to Ukraine
The US has no problem with supplying German Leopard 2 main battle tanks or German Patriot anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine. “Our position is the same in both cases: It is Germany’s decision what Germany does,” US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told journalists during her visit to Germany in Berlin.
Ukraine has been demanding the delivery of Leopard 2 main battle tanks from the federal government for months. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has repeatedly emphasized that Germany will not go it alone when it comes to supporting Ukraine with Western-style battle tanks. So far, no NATO country has delivered such tanks. Ukraine also wants US-type Patriot air defense systems, which Germany has so far only offered to NATO partner Poland to protect the border area with Ukraine.
9:29 pm – Zelenskyj: Russia has brought “hell” to Ukraine
With its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army brought “hell under the Russian flag” into the country, according to the head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The situation is “very difficult,” Zelensky said, especially in the frontline areas of the Donbass in eastern Ukraine in his daily video address. He listed the focal points of Bakhmut, Soledar and Kremnina. “There hasn’t been any living space in these areas for a long time that hasn’t been damaged by shells.”
In addition, the city of Bakhmut was destroyed by the occupying forces. “Another Donbass city that the Russian army turned into a burnt ruin,” said Zelenskyy. His adviser Mykhailo Podoliak had previously described the situation around Bakhmut as “hell on earth” from the Ukrainian point of view.
“Kick-off Politics” is WELT’s daily news podcast. The most important topic analyzed by WELT editors and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or directly via RSS feed.