weapons shipments
The frenzy of exchanging rings is followed by frustration and anger. Now a new idea is being discussed
Recycled marten– Infantry fighting vehicles are in the Rheinmetall plant in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony
© Julian Stratenschulte / DPA
Broadside for the federal government: Poland is frustrated by the lack of compensation for tanks supplied. There are increasing numbers of voices considering direct arms shipments to Ukraine.
The Russian attack was already a few weeks ago, the calls for heavy arms deliveries to Ukraine were getting louder and louder, when an idea met with cross-party approval in Berlin. The idea seemed pragmatic and effective – and not like a “joke” that Poland couldn’t laugh at after the Federal Republic initially wanted to help out with 5000 helmets.
The so-called ring exchange was intended to give Ukraine access to heavy artillery as quickly as possible. The theory: Eastern NATO partners provide the attacked country with weapons of Soviet design that the armed forces can use without additional training – as a replacement, they receive Western makes from alliance partners such as Germany.
“It’s about getting things done quickly. Weapons are now being delivered immediately,” explained Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) the procedure at the end of April. After all, the military equipment must be able to be used “without lengthy training, without additional logistics”, said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). In short: the exchange of rings is about said Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) that “the partners who have Soviet-made weapons can deliver them quickly, and we will then ensure the replacement accordingly”.
So much for theory and initial euphoria. In practice, the exchange of rings, three months after the idea was born, caused increasing dissatisfaction.
It’s not going according to plan
The anger is palpable in Poland in particular, which Germany has once again taken to task in drastic terms. The government in Warsaw, which has already delivered more than 200 Soviet-designed T-72 main battle tanks to Ukraine, has sharply criticized the German government’s offer of compensation in recent days.
The federal government recently submitted an offer for the delivery of 20 Leopard 2A4 tanks, said Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak in an interview with the news portal “wPolityce.pl”, excerpts of which were published on Saturday, and complained that there were around twelve It would take months to get the tanks operational.
In addition, the Polish side is counting on at least one tank battalion, which must include 44 tracked vehicles. “Certainly there are gifts that should only be accepted with great caution,” said Blaszczak. Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek even spoke of a “deceptive manoeuvre”.
Foreign Minister Baerbock rejected the accusation of deception and breach of word, admitted on Saturday to the “Picture” however, that not everything is going according to plan. “If this path wasn’t the right one, then we have to see how we can become active elsewhere,” she said about the sluggish armor ring exchange with Poland.
Tanks to Ukraine – without detours?
Against this background, politicians from the Ampel parties are thinking aloud about an idea that was previously considered taboo: direct arms shipments to Ukraine.
- “The ring exchange is not working as planned,” said Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Alliance 90/The Greens) for Editorial network Germany (RND). “Alternatives should be on the table. For example, supplying weapons directly if we can.” That is the task of the federal government in the next few days. When asked whether she also advocated direct tank deliveries, she said to the RND: “If it can be done faster and we or other partners can do it.”
- “The ring exchange idea makes sense, but it’s not going the way we imagined it,” she said FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann on Friday to the “Rheinische Post”. “We must then also have the courage to admit that things are not working as we had imagined and should, if necessary, deliver directly to Ukraine instead,” said the chair of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag.
- “This is about concrete support for Ukraine in a crucial phase of the war,” said FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai on Monday in Deutschlandfunk. It would have to be quickly investigated “why the whole thing doesn’t work” and how this can be optimized. If the Ministry of Defense comes to the order that the ring exchange didn’t work, “from my point of view that’s a way to say yes, then it will be delivered directly,” says Djir-Sarai.
The defense minister showed understanding for the frustration in Poland, expressed “great respect” for the deliveries from Warsaw on Friday, but rejected the criticism of the ring exchange overall. The gaps in the Polish army would have to be filled by German industry, said Lambrecht. “I can’t do that with the Bundeswehr’s stocks if I want to ensure the defense of the country and the alliance.” Discussions should be ongoing with industry according to the defense ministers during a visit to the Luftwaffe troops in Neuburg, although she is certain “that we will come to a good result.”
Expert: “Imbalance” in battles in the south
But when? The Russian war of aggression is entering its 152nd day, and there is no end in sight to the fighting. Instead, Moscow is intensifying its rhetoric, confirming, for example, that it wants to bring about a change of government in Kyiv and occupy more areas. Russia torpedoed a recently concluded agreement on grain exports from Ukraine with a missile attack on the port of Odessa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the rocket attacks as an act of “blatant Russian barbarism”. The beatings are another reason for giving Ukraine such weapons “that are necessary for our victory,” he said in a video message published on Saturday evening.
In the east of the country, Ukraine is under heavy pressure, with the capture of Lysychansk, Russia now controls the entire Luhansk region. To keep the south Kyiv is apparently planning a counter-offensive. “From a Ukrainian perspective, this is tactically and strategically understandable,” said security expert Sabine Fischer “Tagesschau.de”, a lot would be decided in the south in the coming weeks and months. “Since the occupation of these areas, Russia has been trying to build quasi-state structures there, and this is now becoming more and more concrete.”
Despite minor successes by the Ukrainian armed forces, Fischer warns that there is an “imbalance”, for example in the supply of tanks, weapons and ammunition. “Here a lot depends on how quickly and how extensively the west of Ukraine makes military equipment and equipment available in order to be able to achieve these war goals in the south.”
Whether the exchange of rings is the right instrument for this is likely to be the subject of lively discussion in the next few days.