SLIAC / Slovakia, May 6 (Reuters) – Germany will deliver seven self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, in addition to five such artillery systems already promised by the Dutch government, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Friday.
Germany reversed its long-standing policy of not sending heavy weapons to military zones last week after pressure at home and abroad to help Ukraine repel Russian attacks.
Heavy weapons will come out of the Bundeswehr’s inventory and be delivered as soon as they are out of maintenance in the coming weeks, Lambrecht and its chief of defense, General Eberhard Zorn, told reporters in the Slovak town of Sliac.
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The training of the first group of about 20 Ukrainian soldiers at the 2000 Panzerhaubitze is expected to begin next week in the German town of Idar-Oberstein, Zorn said, adding that the troops had experience in operating Soviet-built howitzers.
Ukraine’s calls for heavy weapons have intensified as Moscow directs its heaviest firepower to the east and south of the country after failing to capture the capital, Kyiv. Read more
Berlin will also deliver the first package of ammunition for howitzers built by German defense company KMW, Zorn said, with additional ammunition purchases going directly between Kyiv and the company.
The Panzerhaubitze 2000 is one of the most powerful artillery weapons in the Bundeswehr’s inventory and can hit targets at a distance of 40 km (25 miles).
Last week, Berlin agreed for the first time to supply Kyiv with heavy weapons, in this case Gepard air defense tanks, after critics accused Germany of following in the footsteps of heavy weapons supplies to Kyiv.
Most of the heavy weapons that NATO countries have sent to Ukraine so far are Soviet-made weapons that are still in the inventory of Eastern European NATO member states, but the United States and some other allies have begun supplying Western howitzers to Kyiv. .
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from the Nazis. Ukraine and the West say the fascist accusation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.
Lambrecht will meet with Dutch counterpart Kaisa Olongren later in the day in Sliac, where both countries have deployed the Patriot air defense following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Report by Sabine Siebold; Edited by Emelia Sitole-Mataris
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