Deutsche Welle
April 9, 2022

Germany: Bundeswehr arms deliveries to Ukraine ‘reached a limit’

Germany’s defense minister says there’s hardly any possibility left to supply Ukraine with weapons from the German military arsenal, and further deliveries would have to be made through the arms industry.

Berlin has so far delivered military gear such as anti-tank, anti-aircraft and surface-to-air missiles as well as machine guns and ammunition to Ukraine

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has said that she sees hardly any possibilities left to supply Ukraine with weapons and equipment directly from the German military stockpiles.

Talking to the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper, Lambrecht said that in order to maintain Germany’s defense capability, future deliveries to Ukraine would increasingly have to be made directly via the arms industry.

“To this end, we are continuously coordinating with Ukraine,” she said, in remarks published Saturday.

“In the case of deliveries from Bundeswehr stocks, however, I have to be honest, we have now reached a limit,” Lambrecht said.

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The minister’s comments come at a time when pressure is growing on Berlin inside and outside the country to expand and accelerate weapons deliveries to Ukraine….

Friedrich Merz, the head of the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) in Germany, this week called for Germany to send heavier weaponry, such as tanks, to Ukraine.

Kyiv also recently requested the transfer of 100 Marder infantry vehicles and other heavy weapons.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, hit back at claims that Germany was not delivering enough weapons to Kyiv this week.

Scholz said that a lot of weapons and equipment had been sent already and that further deliveries would follow. “We will deliver whatever we can in terms of weapons from the current stocks of the Bundeswehr, everything that makes sense and has a rapid impact,” he said.

Scholz also rejected criticism that his defense minister had not organized the weapons deliveries quickly enough. “I know that Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht is doing everything feasible, taking into account decisions by our allies and the capabilities of the German army,” the chancellor said.