According to the diplomat, Former Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany and current Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk, thanks to the proactive position of President Zelenskyy and public pressure through the German mass media, Kyiv managed to get German weapons worth more than 3 billion euros from Berlin.
“And this is clearly not the limit. So there is no need to make fools of us today and say: here we have handed over 18 Leopards to you, that’s the end of it. The Germans are being convinced today that they have already done almost too much for us. This narrative is already is quietly being planted everywhere in Germany,” Melnyk explained in an interview to RBK Ukraine.
The diplomat noted that until recently almost every week the topic of Ukraine and the Russian war was, if not on the front page, then at least mainstream in major magazines such as Spiegel, Stern, Focus.
“And since February, that is actually two months already, everything, unfortunately, is gradually changing. The same applies to the main five political talk shows in Germany – Anne Will, Maischberger, Maybrit Illner, Markus Lanz and Hart aber fair. Instead instead of discussing aircraft for the Air Force of Ukraine, additional tanks, the focus is now on such issues as the threat of a banking crisis, climate change, the costs of home owners for energy renovation, etc.
All this is very sad, this situation is beneficial for the federal government, because today there is practically no more public pressure for Berlin to continue increasing aid to Ukraine. Of course the more than 3 billion euros in weapons that Germany gave us in thirteen and a half months of war is really cool. We are grateful for that support. But let’s be honest: this is clearly not enough. We have a gap both in the Bundeswehr itself and in German industry, which, thank God, is starting to get the green light,” he said.
Melnyk reminded that, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 328 Leopard-2 tanks were in service with the Bundeswehr. 18 of them were transferred to Ukraine, that is, about 6%.
“Finally, Berlin gave us 40 Marder BMPs, of which only 20 units were from the army reserves. At the same time, as we know, the Bundeswehr has about 370 Marders at its disposal, that is, only 5% were given to us. In addition, the German army has at its disposal are about 600 armored personnel carriers “Fuchs”. This is a very effective armored vehicle, which we would need today for the safe transport of troops to the front line, and most importantly – for the preparation of a large counteroffensive. Unfortunately, we have not yet received any such APCs. And if a dozen “Fuchs” were delivered for the Armed Forces, or even better – a hundred, would this weaken Germany’s defense capability? Hardly. And the Bundeswehr also has a tracked armored combat vehicle for the landing forces “Wiesel”, although twenty thirty years, but these are very effective weapons. The Bundeswehr has about 300 such machines in service, let alone 200 of them in working order. So why not give us 50 pieces? After all, it is no secret that Ukraine needs hundreds for a successful counteroffensive tanks, BMP, APC, BMD, other armored vehicles.
