Pressure mounts on Germany as Ukraine asks for fast deliveries of tanks

Europe, News January 18, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a video message on January 17, 2023, urging western partners for speedier deliveries of heavy weapons and tanks following the latest Russian missile attack on Dnipro city.

A missile that hit an apartment building in Ukraine’s eastern city of Dnipro on January 14 has killed at least 40 people, and many people are still in critical condition. Over 70 apartments were destroyed by the strike, which was carried out using a Russian Kh-22 missile. The missile is known to be inaccurate and Ukrainian forces lack the necessary air defense to shoot it down.

In his video address, Zelenskyy said, “A new defense aid package has been announced, exactly what is needed, main battle tanks, other armored vehicles, and artillery.” Zelenskyy also called for speedier delivery of battle tanks from Western allies.

Earlier this month, Kyiv’s top diplomatic envoy in Berlin said that his country needs German-made Leopard 2 tanks to fight Russia as soon as possible.

Ukraine’s ambassador in Berlin, Oleksii Makeiev, urged the German government to provide his country with Leopard 2 battle tanks quickly. “We have very little time for discussions. And we expect our allies to understand that and act appropriately,” he said.

German arms maker and manufacturer of the Leopard battle tanks, Rheinmetall, says that it would take until 2024 for its tanks to be refurbished and ready for export.

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said during an interview with a local newspaper, “Even if the decision is made tomorrow that we are allowed to send our Leopard tanks to Kyiv, delivering them will take until the beginning of next year.”

Germany's Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank — *^{Germany’s Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank. (Image Credit: Ralph Zwilling/Overtdefense)}*

In the wake of increasing pressure to provide Ukraine with modern weapons and especially tanks, Berlin has appointed a new defense minister to lead the efforts to modernize Germany’s army and steer policy on the war in Ukraine.

The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz on January 17, 2023, named Boris Pistorius as the defense chief to replace scandal-hit Christine Lambrecht, who resigned a day earlier. Christine Lambrecht was been blamed for failing to modernize the army and denounced Berlin’s response to the Ukraine war. Lambrecht resigned through a written statement saying that “months of media focus on my person” had stood in the way of a factual debate about the military and Germany’s security policy.

Lambrecht’s replacement, Pistorius, hails Scholz’s governing Social Democrat Party (SPD) and will leave his position as the interior minister of the state of Lower Saxony to take the office of the country’s defense minister. He gained a national profile during the 2015 refugee crisis and is known for taking a hard line on security issues.