100 days after the start of the Ukraine war, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) received the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefantschuk in Berlin on Friday. Stefantschuk came to the Chancellery in military gear.
On Thursday, at the start of his visit to Germany, the President of the Parliament called for the delivery of German Leopard and Marder tanks to Ukraine to fight against the Russian attackers. “Of course, what we need most of all is modern weapons. We can also fight and hold out with old weapons from old stocks, but the newer weapons are more efficient,” he said after a meeting with MPs, according to the official translation. “That’s why we’re expecting both the martens and the leopards.”
Stefantschuk welcomed the fact that Scholz announced the delivery of further heavy weapons to Ukraine in the Bundestag on Wednesday. However, he emphasized that these must now be delivered quickly. Around 100 people are killed and around 500 wounded every day in Ukraine. “It would therefore be nice if the time (…) between the decision and the actual delivery was kept as short as possible.” Stefantschuk also wanted to meet Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday.
Scholz had announced three new weapons deliveries on Wednesday in the general debate in the Bundestag: Ukraine is to receive the Iris-T air defense system and a Cobra-type artillery tracking radar from German industry.
In addition, four Mars II multiple rocket launchers with a range of up to 40 kilometers are to be supplied from Bundeswehr stocks. Two other heavy weapon systems had already been promised beforehand: 50 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks and seven Panzerhaubitz 2000 – heavy artillery pieces.
On Wednesday in the Bundestag, the chancellor announced the delivery of the Iris-T and a locating radar to be used to detect artillery positions. Germany also wants to deliver four multiple rocket launchers from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine.
More on the Ukraine war on Tagesspiegel Plus:
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, has also again called for a speedy delivery of the weapons promised by Germany. He was satisfied with the recent announcement by Chancellor Scholz to send weapons such as the Iris-T air defense system to Ukraine, said Melynk on Friday in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. “But if we’re honest, 100 days of war, up to now not a single piece of heavy equipment has been delivered to Ukraine from Germany.” The first weapons would probably not arrive until the end of June. “You see how precarious the situation is.”
Bas promises more help
Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) assured her Ukrainian counterpart of further support. “The German Bundestag stands firmly on the side of Ukraine. We will continue to provide your country with humanitarian and military, financial and diplomatic support to the best of our ability,” Bas said on Friday to Stefanchuk, who was a guest in parliament.
Bas emphasized that Stefantschuk’s first trip abroad after Russia’s illegal attack took him to Germany. Bas: “A sovereign Ukraine is part of a free and democratic Europe. Your country has the right to make its own decisions about its own path – in freedom and peace.”
On the fringes of the Bundestag session, the chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), called for Ukraine to be provided with ammunition in a joint action by NATO countries. “The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition. It is old Soviet ammunition,” said Strack-Zimmermann of the German Press Agency. “We need immediate concerted action by NATO to deliver ammunition – and Germany should deliver massive amounts of night vision devices. The ability to fight at night, the Russians only special forces. (dpa)
Source: Tagesspiegel
I am a technology author with 8 years of experience in journalism. My writing covers the latest technology advancements and trends, drawing on my expertise in news journalism and social media platforms. I have contributed to major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
