The German chancellor is under mounting pressure to allow the delivery of heavy weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s looming eastern offensive, with Olaf Schultz’s coalition partners accusing him of failing to deliver on his promises.
The center-left leader surprised even close partners in his three-party coalition when on February 27 he announced a “historic change” in Germany’s foreign policy to boost defense spending and ease its restrictive stance on arms exports to conflict areas.
Six weeks later, leading politicians from allied parties urged the Social Democrats to follow through with rhetoric after accusing Germany of stalling heavy weapons deliveries to Ukraine and blocking a blanket ban on Russian oil and gas.
Marie-Agnes Struck-Zimmermann of the Free Democratic Party, who heads the Bundestag Defense Committee, said that Schulz should “not only close his lips, but begin to whistle”.
In light of the apparent failure of economic sanctions to halt Vladimir Putin’s military campaign, she said there should be a renewed focus on hard power.
“There is only one answer that Russia understands: to keep trying to end the war through talks — but with one clear hand on the bursa,” said Struck-Zimmermann. “This means that Germany should also provide Ukraine with heavy weapons to help it defend itself, as long as the Ukrainian army can handle it.”
Her appeal was echoed by Anton Hofriter, a leading figure on the left in Germany’s Green Party: “The problem is with the Chancellery,” Hofriter told Deutsche Welle radio. “We have to finally begin to supply Ukraine with what it needs, and this is heavy weapons.”
He continued: “I can only imagine why the chancellor would apply the brakes like this. I don’t see any rationale for that. But with his actions, the Chancellor is not only harming the situation in Ukraine, but also seriously damaging Germany’s reputation in Europe and the world. ”
Hofriter and Strack Zimmermann, along with Michael Roth of the Social Democrats, traveled to Ukraine earlier in the week.
By the end of March, Germany had provided Ukraine with €186m (£154m) in military supplies, including rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft missiles, machine guns and ammunition, but not heavy weapons such as tanks, helicopters and combat aircraft. .
Over the weekend, Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin, Andrei Melnik, expressed a desire for Germany to help his country against an expected major Russian offensive by delivering Leopard battle tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Cobra weapons position radars and Panzerhaubitze 2000 armored howitzers.
“With them we can not only try to stop the expected massive Russian offensive in the east, but also to recover occupied territories in the south,” Melnik told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
According to Welt am Sonntag, the Ukrainian government has offered Germany 100 Panzerhaubitze 2000s it hopes will buy directly from the German Armed Forces which will be replaced by newly built armored howitzers.
The gap that this would create in the German military arsenal cannot be closed before 2024. For this reason, the Schulz government is said to be lukewarm about the deal. The chancellor said any arms shipments to Ukraine should not jeopardize Germany’s NATO commitments in other regions, such as the Baltic states.
Schulz’s party also says Germany should not deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine until NATO allies reach a joint decision to do so. So far, the Czech Republic has only confirmed that it has sent T-72 tanks and BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles.
“The federal government is coordinating closely with our international partners,” said Rolf Mutzenich, head of the SPD’s parliamentary group. “Germany should not go it alone.”
But Schultz’s critics say he is deliberately allowing bureaucratic hurdles to slow decision-making on arms exports in an effort to placate those within his party who are still waiting for a diplomatic settlement with the Kremlin.
“Of course there are members of the SPD parliamentary group who are still in shock that their idea of Russia has brutally collapsed,” said Struck Zimmermann. “I think the chancellor still takes a lot of respect for their sensibilities.”
A survey conducted by the polling company Infratest dimap on Thursday showed that a majority of German respondents would prefer heavy arms exports to an energy embargo that could harm the German economy. 55% of those questioned supported it, and only 37% opposed. Clear opposition to arms exports was recorded only among supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany.
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