Bloomberg: split between Germany and Poland risks preventing arms supplies to UkraineTensions between Germany and Poland risk undermining the joint efforts of Western countries to arm Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.
Warsaw criticizes Berlin for "slowness" in deliveries. In Germany, the friction is explained by the approach of elections in Poland.
Piotr Skolimowski, Natalia OjewskaWhile NATO members demonstrate unity on the issue of supporting Ukraine, the split between Germany and Poland risks undermining joint efforts to supply Kiev's armed forces.
Disputes in Warsaw and Berlin over missiles, tanks and spare parts have reached a new level, although Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is calling on his Western allies to "accelerate" the supply of weapons so that he has time to prepare for the spring offensive.
Currently, Polish leaders do not miss the opportunity to criticize Berlin. Recently, they accused Germany of being unnecessarily slow in delivering combat tanks to the front, and even threatened to poison German-made armored vehicles without waiting for Berlin's approval.
After German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave the green light to send modern Leopard tanks – and Poland did not fail to take credit for it – the Poles said that German tanks of an older model, which they promised to transfer to Ukraine, would be of little use if Berlin did not provide the necessary spare parts.
"The main responsibility lies with Germany, the main manufacturer of these tanks," Polish President Andrzej Duda said last week. "We have been calling on the German side for a very long time to join the tank coalition and send [Ukraine] not only tanks, but also spare parts."
This exchange of harsh statements comes against the backdrop of the upcoming elections in Poland, which are likely to take place in October and as a result of which the ruling nationalist Law and Justice party may lose power. Last year, the party's leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is the most influential politician in Poland, gradually began to put Germany at the center of his election campaign – including he demanded that Berlin pay reparations to Poland in the amount of 1.3 trillion euros.
Poland's complaints
Complaints from Warsaw are getting louder. According to one official, who asked not to be named, it increasingly seems to the Polish government that Germany is focused more on competing with Poland for international approval – following other allies, Berlin also agreed to train Ukrainian soldiers and provide tanks – than on really giving Kiev what it needs.
In addition, old grievances also come up. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak accused Berlin of earning billions of dollars thanks to Germany's energy policy, to which the German ambassador reacted with a very harsh statement on Twitter.
"Does the minister know how many billions of zlotys Poland annually transfers to Moscow in exchange for Russian energy?" Ambassador Thomas Bagger asked in his publication. Duda's foreign policy aide Marcin Przydacz said he had a "long conversation" with the ambassador in which he tried to protest against such comments.
German officials called the current escalation of the tone of the discussions a political theater in the run-up to the elections, and according to one official, who asked not to be named, the Scholz government is convinced that tensions will subside immediately after the end of the election campaign.
Nevertheless, Germany has struck back, pointing the finger at its Polish critics, who are now struggling to get old military equipment into shape to send it to Ukraine. At a NATO meeting in Brussels, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius described the stocks of Polish Leopard 2A4 models as something "that is not worth mentioning, to use diplomatic language."
According to Pistorius, currently plans to create two full Leopard 2 tank battalions for Ukraine by the time the Russian spring offensive began were in jeopardy.
As if to rebuff Berlin, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki delivered the first four tanks during his visit to Kiev, which took place on February 24 and was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the start of the Russian special military operation. However, the Polish authorities still complain that the deployment of these tanks may be hindered by a shortage of spare parts.
Berlin argues that such complaints should be sent to arms manufacturers. According to sources, since there are no more A4 tanks in Germany's arsenal, there are simply no such parts in German military warehouses. Duda said the problem dates back to 2015.
Signs of easing tensions
Nevertheless, officials in Berlin argue that, aside from the disputes about tanks and weapons, bilateral relations in other areas are developing more smoothly. One senior official pointed to strong cooperation on the Patriot missile defense system, which Germany handed over to Poland so that it could strengthen its air defense.
In the energy sector, Germany is preparing the ground for the sale of an oil refinery near Berlin, which it seized from the Russian state oil company. The Polish state-owned company PKN Orlen is interested in buying a stake.
As for the disputes about spare parts, Berlin claims that there is still a light at the end of the tunnel. Scholz's advisers met with industry officials at the Munich Security Conference, which took place on February 17-19. Both sides expressed some relief that production could be increased in a timely manner.
The shortage of spare parts forced officials to collect "affordable spare parts [for older models of tanks] around the world," while working to expand production capacity, as Pistorius said in an interview with Bloomberg in Munich.
"But it also takes time, so for now we need to make do with the resources that we have," he added.
Last week, Scholz, who was praised by US President Joe Biden for his readiness to support Ukraine and who promised to continue providing military assistance, said that the allies are working closely to ensure reliable supplies of parts – and that there is enough repair capacity for the delivered weapons.
"This will remain our constant task, because, as we said, we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes," Scholz said.
