The German chancellor is under increasing pressure to allow the supply of heavy weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s impending eastern offensive, with Olaf Scholz’s coalition partners accusing him of breaking his promises.
The center-left leader surprised even close partners in his tripartite coalition when he announced a “landmark change” in Germany’s foreign policy on February 27 to boost defense spending and ease his restrictive stance on arms exports to conflict zones.
Six weeks later, prominent Allied politicians called on the Social Democrats to follow suit after Germany was accused of cutting off heavy weapons supplies to Ukraine and blocking a wholesale ban on Russian oil and gas.
Scholz must “not just purse his lips, but start whistling,” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of the Free Democratic Party, which chairs the Bundestag’s defense committee.
In view of the apparent failure of economic sanctions to halt Vladimir Putin’s military campaign, she said a renewed focus should be placed on hard power.
“There is only one answer that Russia understands: to keep trying to end the war through negotiations – but with one hand visibly on the holster,” Strak-Zimmerman said. “This means that Germany must also supply Ukraine with heavy weapons to help it defend itself, as long as the Ukrainian army can handle them.
Her call was echoed by Anton Hofreiter, a leading figure on the left of the German Green Party: “The problem is the chancellery,” Hofreiter told Deutsche Welle. “We must finally start delivering to Ukraine what it needs, and that is heavy weapons.
He continued: “I can only guess why the Chancellor is applying the brakes like that. I see no logical reason for this. However, the Chancellor’s actions not only damage the situation in Ukraine, but also seriously damage Germany’s reputation in Europe and the world.
Hofreiter and Strack-Zimmermann, along with Michael Roth of the PSD, traveled to Ukraine earlier in the week.
By the end of March, Germany had delivered 186 million euros (£ 154 million) in military supplies to Ukraine, including rockets, anti-aircraft missiles, machine guns and ammunition, but not heavy weapons such as tanks, helicopters or fighter jets.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian Ambassador to Berlin Andriy Melnik expressed a desire for Germany to help his country against an expected major Russian offensive by supplying Leopard battle tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Cobra weapons location radars and the Panzerhaubitze 2000 armored howitzer.
“With them, we can not only try to stop the expected huge Russian offensive in the east, but also recapture the occupied territories to the south,” Melnik told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
According to the newspaper Welt am Sonntag, the Ukrainian government has made an offer to Germany for 100 Panzerhaubitze 2000s, which it hopes to buy directly from the German armed forces and which the latter will replace with newly built armored howitzers.
The gap this would create in Germany’s military arsenal cannot be filled before 2024. Therefore, the Scholz government is reportedly cool about the deal. The chancellor said any arms supplies to Ukraine should not jeopardize Germany’s NATO commitments in other regions, such as the Baltic states.
Scholz’s party also says Germany should not supply heavy weapons to Ukraine until NATO allies reach a joint decision. So far, only the Czech Republic has confirmed that it has sent T-72 tanks and BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles.
“The federal government is coordinating closely with our international partners,” said Rolf Mucenic, chairman of the PSD parliamentary group. “Germany does not have to walk alone.”
But critics of Scholz say he deliberately allowed bureaucratic hurdles to delay decisions on arms exports in a bid to reassure those in his party who are still fighting for a diplomatic deal with the Kremlin.
“Of course, there are members of the PSD parliamentary group who are still in shock because their idea of Russia has brutally collapsed,” Strack-Zimmerman said. “I think the chancellor still pays too much respect to their sensitivity.
A survey by sociological firm Infratest dimap, published on Thursday, found that a majority of German respondents prefer the export of heavy weapons to an energy embargo that could hit the German economy. Fifty-five percent of respondents are in favor, with only 37% against. A clear opposition to arms exports was registered only among supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany.
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