3 reasons .. What is the secret of the shift in Germany’s position on the Ukraine war?

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During the last period, I practiced Ukraine Strong pressure on the German government, to obtain defensive weapons in the face Russiaand pushed Berlin to play a more powerful role in the crisis.

In early March, the German chancellor announced, Olaf Schultzthat "Germany is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, and will not join it"However, following widespread criticism, the situation shifted to the extent that the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Birbock, said that "Kyiv needs heavy weapons, and this is no time to make excuses".

Government sources told the German News Agency that the federal government is currently preparing a multilateral exchange to complete the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

The sources indicated that during that, it is scheduled to supply Slovenia More number of battle tanks of the type "At -72" Ukraine, in exchange for Slovenia to receive from Germany an armored personnel carrier "Marder" As well as on an armored vehicle "Fox".

The tanks are back "At -72" For the Soviet era, it is already used by Ukrainian armyIt does not require additional comprehensive training.

According to government departments, Slovenia has requested more modern equipment from Germany As a clearing, among them, for example, the German battle tank "Leopard 2" And an armored vehicle "boxer" And an armored personnel carrier "puma" To be entered into service in the German army as a successor of the tanker model "Marder" that have been in use for 50 years.

For her part, German Defense Minister Christiane Lambrecht confirmed, Thursday, that Germany will train Ukrainian soldiers on the self-propelled artillery. "BZF".

3 reasons

And on Germany’s position, the Czech-Canadian analyst specializing in international security and political affairs, Mitchell Belfer, said: "At the beginning Ukrainian crisisBerlin promised to send 3,000 helmets and some jackets to Ukraine, and when the war began, Berlin quickly changed its position and promised to send more advanced and deadly military equipment to Ukraine, but this has not yet materialized, and many of Berlin’s promises to help Ukraine militarily have not been fulfilled.".

Belfer, director of the European Gulf Information Center in Rome, added, in statements to"Sky News Arabia"this is "Partly due to Germany’s long-term pacifist foreign policy. Germany tends not to get involved in many conflicts, but what is most pessimistic is that Germany is over-reliant on Russian gas Its assessment that Russia is ready for a quick victory led it to resist supporting the strengthening of Ukraine’s military capabilities. This reluctance is the reason why Zelensky did not invite Steinmeier to visit Kyiv.".

He continued: "It seems that this is indeed a turning point in the relationship between Berlin and Moscow, as pressures are increasing and escalating, both internally and through NATO and the European Union to change its behavior in the crisis. Whether referring to the pipeline project Nord Stream Or the free movement of Russian oligarchs across Germany and the broader European Union, there are growing calls for a redefinition of the relationship.

It should also be noted that this may be a turning point in Germany’s relationship with its Western allies as well. Germany simply did not take the lead in this crisis, and cannot be considered the strategic leader of the European Union in the wake of Brexit".

He explained that "Instead, all eyes are on Paris to play this role. Also, even though the UK is no longer a member of the European Union, it is playing a very important role as the leader of NATO in this crisis. Therefore, Germany now occupies the back seat of both France and Britain when it comes to aiding Ukraine".

What did Germany give to Ukraine?

German media revealed the total number of weapons and ammunition that Ukraine has received from Germany since the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine.

She explained that Ukraine has so far obtained from Germany regarding 2,500 anti-aircraft missiles and 900 anti-armor launchers "Banzer Faust" 100 machine guns and 50 missiles.

She added that 100,000 grenades, 2,000 mines and regarding 5,300 explosive devices were also obtained, as well as more than 16 million rounds of ammunition of various calibers for hand weapons, ranging from automatic rifles to heavy machine guns.

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During the last period, I practiced Ukraine Strong pressure on the German government, to obtain defensive weapons in the face Russiaand pushed Berlin to play a more powerful role in the crisis.

In early March, the German chancellor announced, Olaf Schultzthat “Germany is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, and will not join it”, but following widespread criticism the situation has shifted to the point that German Foreign Minister Annalina Birbock said that “Kyiv needs heavy weapons, and this is not the time to make excuses.”

Government sources told the German News Agency that the federal government is currently preparing a multilateral exchange to complete the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

The sources indicated that during that, it is scheduled to supply Slovenia A greater number of T-72 battle tanks for Ukraine, while Slovenia will receive in exchange from Germany a Marder armored personnel carrier, as well as a Fuchs armored vehicle.

Tanks “T-72” dating back to the Soviet era, and they are already used by Ukrainian armyIt does not require additional comprehensive training.

According to government departments, Slovenia has requested more modern equipment from Germany As a clearinghouse, for example, the German “Leopard 2” battle tank, an armored “Boxer” and a “Puma” armored personnel carrier, which will be introduced into service in the German army, succeeding the “Marder” tanker that has been in use for 50 years.

For her part, German Defense Minister Christiane Lambrecht confirmed Thursday that Germany will train Ukrainian soldiers on the BZF self-propelled gun.

3 reasons

And on Germany’s position, the Czech-Canadian analyst specializing in international security and political affairs, Mitchell Belfer, said that “in the beginning… Ukrainian crisisBerlin promised to send 3,000 helmets and some jackets to Ukraine, and when the war began, Berlin quickly changed its position and promised to send more advanced and deadly military equipment to Ukraine, but this has not yet materialized, and many of Berlin’s promises to help Ukraine militarily have not been fulfilled.

Belfer, who is the director of the European Gulf Information Center in Rome, added, in statements to “Sky News Arabia”, that “this is partly due to Germany’s long-term peaceful foreign policy. Germany tends not to get involved in many conflicts, but the most pessimistic thing is Germany is over-reliance on Russian gas Its assessment that Russia is ready for a quick victory led it to resist supporting the strengthening of Ukraine’s military capabilities, and this reluctance is the reason why Zelensky did not invite Steinmeier to visit Kyiv.”

He continued, “It seems that this is indeed a turning point in the relationship between Berlin and Moscow, as pressures are increasing and escalating, whether internally or through NATO and the European Union to change its behavior with the crisis. And whether by referring to a pipeline project. Nord Stream Or the free movement of Russian oligarchs across Germany and the broader European Union, there are growing calls for a redefinition of the relationship.

It should also be noted that this may be a turning point in Germany’s relationship with its Western allies as well. Germany simply did not take the lead in this crisis, and cannot be considered the EU’s strategic leader in the wake of Brexit.”

“Instead, all eyes are on Paris to play this role,” he explained. “Also, although the UK is no longer a member of the European Union it plays a very important role as the leader of NATO in this crisis. Therefore, Germany now occupies the back seat of all From France and Britain when it comes to helping Ukraine.”

What did Germany give to Ukraine?

German media revealed the total number of weapons and ammunition that Ukraine has received from Germany since the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine.

She explained that Ukraine has so far obtained from Germany regarding 2,500 anti-aircraft missiles, 900 “Panzerfaust” anti-armor launchers, 100 machine guns and 50 missiles.

She added that 100,000 grenades, 2,000 mines and regarding 5,300 explosive devices were also obtained, as well as more than 16 million rounds of ammunition of various calibers for hand weapons, ranging from automatic rifles to heavy machine guns.