Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that he was disappointed by Germany's refusal to supply Kiev with Leopard 2 battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2022) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that he was disappointed by Germany's refusal to supply Kiev with Leopard 2 battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
In early September, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal asked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to the country. On Monday, Scholz said that Berlin would act together with its allies rather than take unilateral action when it comes to arms supplies to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, in turn, announced last week that Germany had reached its limit in terms of its arms exports to Kiev.
"Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now to liberate people and save them from genocide. Not a single rational argument on why these weapons can not be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
In late August, German media reported that Kiev had repeatedly asked Berlin to supply it with additional weapons but so far without success. The German defense ministry reportedly justified its refusal to provide heavy military aid to Ukraine, in particular, by the fact that the German armed forces needed weapons to fulfill allied obligations in NATO.
On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Western countries responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Moscow while also ramping up their military support for Kiev.
In April, Russia sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on the Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.
