If Berlin does not make the right and responsible decisions on aid, Member States must push forward
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January 24, 2023 7:00 AM(Has been updated 7:37 am)
Ten days before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, I used this column to warn about Germany’s role as an unreliable member of the Western Alliance.
At the time, Berlin had failed to provide serious military aid to Ukraine. 5,000 old helmets At a time when the Zelensky regime was demanding artillery and anti-tank weapons and actively preventing NATO allies such as Estonia from sending donations from their own arsenals, defense customers sought the German government’s consent before selling. Kits purchased from countries under export provisions requiring.
The good news is that the image has changed a bit since then. Reluctance to provide direct aid in the form of supplies has waned, and the federal government has stepped up dramatically in the supply of weapons, kits, medical and humanitarian equipment. All was graciously received, and even if it’s late, at least it’s better than never.
The bad news is that the bad habit of interfering with critical arms supplies by fellow NATO allies continues.
Kyiv is now armed with modern main battle tanks to forestall a Russian attack and to be able to launch the counteroffensive needed to liberate the territories currently occupied by the army of brutal war criminals. I’m looking for
Britain has already pledged to deliver 14 Challenger 2 models, but Ukraine also wants access to the Leopard 2, a German-made tank that has hundreds in state treasuries across Europe.
Various countries want to send leopards in response to this request, but Berlin will not allow it. It would cost Germany nothing to do so. They didn’t have to send any of their own tanks if they didn’t want them.
Aggressive and deliberate sabotage is staggering. Olaf Scholz did not own these tanks, his country only sold them. This refusal is the same as the dealer you bought your car from banning you from renting it to a victim of a violent robbery.
A year ago, supposedly German politicians said that allowing the export of a handful of old howitzers to Ukraine would infuriate the soon-to-be victorious President Putin, saying that there would be no military difference and political costs. I thought it would take. Let’s appease Russia, endure short criticism and start grappling with the new reality after the sad but inevitable defeat of Ukraine. That would have been the reason for their actions at the time, but it’s still a possible reason.
But now that excuse has been exposed and torn down. Indeed, after these long and bloody months of resistance, Ukraine has earned the right to trust a little more, but Russia, where real political wishful thinking turns a blind eye to carnage, carnage and genocide I have proven this in every situation.
Then where next? No moral impetus seems to change Berlin’s mind. Scholz seems unfazed by the military logic that Ukrainians brave enough to fight for their lives are making Europe safer by hollowing out the Russian military.
Perhaps cold financial incentives may make the mind focus.
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Can NATO allies really confidently buy German tanks and other weapons after this episode? We now know that it means giving Berlin a power of veto that it will happily use.
In the case of a large-scale land war in Europe, with millions of people behind the Russian invasion and occupation, these weapons proved to be undermined by deadly indecision at best.
Competitors in the German defense sector could claim just this. What’s the use of buying a gun from a manufacturer that won’t let you use it in an emergency?
In fact, we can go further by simultaneously reconciling our moral, practical and commercial interests. Countries currently operating Leopard 2 are reluctant to unilaterally violate German export controls, fearing they will be cut off from spare parts resupply and other support.
The UK government can address this with new and innovative forms of aid to Kyiv. That is, if you send the Leopard to Ukraine, it is a guarantee that you will instead help replenish the British tanks. Those who are in need will be freed from their constraints and our defense sector will capture new markets.
Of course, it would be easier for Germany to give the go-ahead to dispatch the leopards. However, if the German government does not make responsible and appropriate decisions, it runs the risk of sidelining its allies. This war will not wait.
