Ukraine war
Germany delivers Panzerhaubitzen 2000 – Ambassador Melnyk thanks and calls for more weapons
A Bundeswehr Panzerhaubitze 2000 during an exercise
© Morris MacMatzen / Getty Images
Seven Panzerhaubitzen 2000 from Germany have arrived in the Ukraine. It’s not the last shipment of heavy weapons the federal government is planning.
Almost four months after the start of the war, the first heavy weapons arrived in the Ukraine from Germany in the form of Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery pieces. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov thanked Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) on Twitter on Tuesday. The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk told the German Press Agency that all seven promised guns had arrived in Ukraine.
“We are grateful for this military support from the federal government,” said Melnyk. “At the same time, we assume that this was only the first important step in strengthening the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian army.” Melnyk called on the government to organize further deliveries. “The German armaments industry is ready to produce 100 new self-propelled howitzers for Ukraine at short notice. We very much hope that Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Federal Security Council will approve the relevant application.”
The Bundeswehr’s most modern artillery piece
The Panzerhaubitze 2000 is the Bundeswehr’s most modern artillery piece. It looks like a giant battle tank and can hit targets 40 kilometers away. The Bundeswehr currently has such guns stationed in Lithuania to protect NATO’s eastern flank. The Bundeswehr recently trained Ukrainian soldiers at the artillery school in Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. The training has now been completed, as the DPA learned.
With the Panzerhaubitze 2000, the Ukrainian armed forces hope to be able to better withstand the overwhelming Russian artillery. “Our artillerymen will bring the heat to the battlefield,” Defense Minister Reznikov tweeted about the delivery. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recently said that Russian artillery is 15 times superior to that of Ukraine.
Ukraine receives howitzers from five countries
“This is the sixth type of 155mm artillery that we have received,” Reznikov wrote on social media. Previously, Ukraine had already received US, British, Polish and French howitzers. He thanked the German partners for their help. But Kyiv continues to hope for stronger support, said Resnikov.
Melnyk told the DPA that only a “massive” increase in deliveries of heavy weapons from Germany could “become a true game changer on the battlefield.” This could save thousands of lives, put Russia in its place militarily and create a real opportunity for peace negotiations.
Federal government publishes list of weapons
The federal government initially did not want to comment on the delivery of the self-propelled howitzers. On Tuesday, however, it published all other arms deliveries to Ukraine for the first time. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit explained the step by adapting it to the practice of the closest allies – for example the USA. The list includes all weapons and other armaments that have been delivered or are scheduled to be delivered. It can now be found on the website of the federal government. So far, it was only visible to members of parliament in the secret protection office of the Bundestag.
So far, the German government has only publicly announced its deliveries to the Ukrainian armed forces for defensive combat against Russia. However, they were published by the Ukrainian side after they arrived in the war zone.
Weapons delivered so far include 3000 Panzerfaust cartridges, 100,000 hand grenades, 2700 Fliegerfaust, 500 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 100 machine guns and 16 million rounds of ammunition. In addition, there is a large amount of equipment such as 23,000 combat helmets, 178 motor vehicles, 1,200 hospital beds, a field hospital and much more.
Teaser image: ABACA/Picture Alliance
Further arms deliveries to Ukraine planned
The federal government has some more deliveries planned, including heavy weapons. Of particular importance for Ukraine is Iris-T SLM, a modern anti-missile defense system from the German defense company Diehl Defense. The contract should be signed in the next few days, and delivery is not expected before autumn. The federal government has also promised Ukraine three multiple rocket launchers.
In addition, she wants to deliver the following:
- 10,000 rounds of artillery ammunition
- 53,000 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition
- 5.8 million rounds of handgun ammunition
- 5000 combat helmets
- 40 recon drones
- 10 protected vehicles
- 4 remote controlled mine clearance devices
- 65 refrigerators for medical supplies
- 54 armored personnel carriers with armament
- 30 anti-aircraft tanks Gepard including about 6000 rounds of ammunition
- 1 artillery detection radar Cobra
- 80 Toyota pick-up vehicles