Status: 02/26/2022 3:58 p.m
Poland is demanding more help from Germany for Ukraine and tougher sanctions against Russia. Prime Minister Morawiecki said that Germany had to shed its “self-centeredness” and “egoism”. Several states announced arms deliveries.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has urgently called on the German government to give Ukraine more support. Before a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Morawiecki warned in Berlin that Germany must shed its “self-centeredness” and its “egoism” and offer the Ukrainian people substantial help. Germany, Poland and Lithuania want to discuss the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
“Nothing will stop Putin if we are not determined enough. This is a very historic moment (…) We have no time to lose,” said Morawiecki.
“Five thousand helmets? That must be a joke”
Morawiecki criticized that the previous German armament aid – military helmets, but no weapons – was far from what was necessary to help Ukraine in its self-defense. “What kind of help was delivered to Ukraine? Five thousand helmets? This must be a joke.”
According to information from the dpa news agency, the 5,000 helmets promised by Germany were handed over to the Ukrainian military on Saturday. The helmets were shipped in two trucks on Friday. So far, it is the only armaments aid that the federal government has granted Ukraine in the current crisis.
For Poles, this attitude is apparently incomprehensible. “I came to Berlin to appeal to Germany’s conscience so that it finally decides on really tough sanctions that influence the Kremlin’s decisions,” says Morawiecki. He called for Russia’s exclusion from the international banking communications network SWIFT and measures taken by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin himself, the oligarchs who support him and the Russian economy in general. Morawiecki also brought up the end of both Baltic Sea gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. Nord Stream 1 has been an important part of Germany’s gas supply for around a decade. Germany has put the commissioning of Nord Stream 2 on hold.
Military aid to Ukraine
Unlike Germany, several states want to support Ukraine more with the delivery of military goods. According to British information, around two dozen countries pledged “military and humanitarian aid” to the attacked country at a donor conference. The British Defense Ministry tweeted that it was considering every option to help Kyiv defend itself against “President Putin’s groundless and illegal invasion”. The conference took place virtually under British leadership on Friday evening.
“I am pleased that other allies have offered defensive and humanitarian assistance,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted. According to a report by British broadcaster Sky News, the conference also included the United States and several non-NATO countries.
Ministry sources said the military support would include ammunition and anti-tank weapons. Great Britain also offered to use “logistical operations” to bring the donations to Ukraine.
Rockets from the Netherlands, machine guns from the Czech Republic
Concrete commitments are known from the Netherlands, among others, which want to deliver 200 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. The government said in a letter to parliament that the Stinger rockets should be made available as soon as possible. Earlier this month, the country pledged to deliver guns, ammunition, radar systems and mine-sweeping robots to Ukraine, among other things.
The Czech Republic also announced that it would deliver weapons and ammunition worth 7.6 million euros to Ukraine. These are machine guns, assault rifles and other light weapons. The weapons would be delivered to a location determined by the Ukrainian side. The Czech Republic had previously decided to donate around 4,000 artillery shells worth 36.6 million crowns to Ukraine.
Denmark announced that it wants to send 2,000 bulletproof vests and 700 medical bags to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyj also announced the arms deliveries. “Our partners’ weapons and equipment are on their way to Ukraine. The anti-war coalition is working,” he wrote on Twitter after a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.