The commitment to supply Gepard anti-aircraft systems was announced by Secretary of Defense Christine Lambrecht during a meeting of international defense officials at the US Air Force Base Rammstein in Germany on Tuesday.
“Yesterday we decided to support Ukraine with anti-aircraft systems … exactly what Ukraine needs now to provide airspace from the ground,” Lambrecht said during a meeting at the base.
This is important because for the first time Germany has agreed to provide this type of heavy weapons to Ukraine while fighting the Russian invasion. Gepard systems were withdrawn from active service in Germany in 2010.
Initially, Germany opposed calls to provide weapons to Kyiv, agreeing only to provide humanitarian aid and medical equipment. This approach was in line with Germany’s decades-long policy of not supplying lethal weapons to the crisis zone.
Just months before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, the then-new German government agreed to include a restrictive arms export policy in its coalition agreement.
But faced with pressure from allies and the German public, the government was forced to reconsider the rules. By the end of February, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced that Germany would begin supplying some weapons to Ukraine, although at the time he insisted he called them “defensive”.
He also announced that Germany would start pumping more money into its own armed forces.
The first such investment was publicly confirmed last month, when Germany announced it would purchase 35 US F-35A fighter jets.
Just last week, German Foreign Minister Analena Burbock said that while “other partners are now providing artillery” to Ukraine, Germany will “help with training and support”.
Baerbock said Germany could not provide additional weapons because the country did not have weapons that it could “deliver quickly and without delay right now.”
She added that Germany had chosen not to make public all the weapons it had previously sent to Ukraine, but said: “We have delivered anti-tank weapons, Stingers [air defense systems] and many other weapons that we have not talked about publicly, “the minister said.
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