BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th December, 2022) Germany should supply Ukraine with Western-made battle tanks and thereby demonstrate leadership skills at the European level, Friedrich Merz, the head of the opposition Christian Democratic Union, told German news agency dpa.
"Supporting Ukraine with armored personnel carriers and battle tanks will not prolong this war, but will shorten it. Germany and other European countries should have supplied Ukraine with Western-made infantry fighting vehicles and battle tanks long ago," Merz was cited as saying by the news agency.
However, the administration of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, apparently, "lacks political will" to take the lead in Europe on this issue, the opposition leader reportedly added.
On Tuesday, Sahra Wagenknecht, German lawmaker from The Left Party, said that Berlin intended not to resolve the Ukraine conflict peacefully, but to achieve Kiev's victory through military supplies. Wagenknecht herself expressed belief that the huge supplies of weapons to Kiev would not resolve the situation.
Western countries have ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation therein on February 24, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In April, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on the Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.
