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| German Defense Minister Says Arms Aid for Ukraine Has Reached Limit |
Berlin - Germany has given Ukraine a lot of weapons from its reserves, but has reached its limit and is now trying other ways to support Kiev. This was stated by the German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht.
"We will continue to support Ukraine, and we have given up a lot of extraordinary things from the Bundeswehr reserve. But I say at this point quite clearly that we have reached our limit," Lambrecht said in a speech to Germany's parliament or Bundestag. (8/9/2022).
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Lambrecht noted that he would ensure that the defense of the country and the alliance could be ensured in the future. Read: France Prepares Used Pipeline to Supply More Gas to Germany Lambrecht also stated that there are other ways to support Ukraine, including the so-called loop swap when Germany gives EU countries new weapons in exchange for old ones, which are then sent to Ukraine .
He said they had made progress in this aspect, including Germany's exchanges with the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In late August, German media reported that Ukrainian diplomats had repeatedly asked Germany to provide additional weapons but so far to no avail.
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The German Ministry of Defense reportedly justifies its refusal to provide heavy military assistance, in particular, by the fact that the German armed forces need weapons to fulfill allied obligations in NATO. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin had regularly supplied Kiev with "highly effective" weapons and promised to continue deliveries, but stressed that there should be no escalation.
On September 4, the media reported that during talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Scholz refused to promise the supply of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
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