Deputy without a mandate Robert Farle accused German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius that the country is even more involved in the conflict by training the Ukrainian military and supplying Kiev with weaponsBERLIN, May 24.
/tass/. If the West currently stops supplying weapons to Kiev, then the end of Ukraine "will come tomorrow." This statement was made on Wednesday in the Bundestag by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
"The end of arms supplies today would mean the end of Ukraine tomorrow," he said, answering a question from a deputy without a mandate, Robert Farle, why Germany is not making efforts for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. The minister added that Germany does not want to allow such a development of events. At the same time, the parliamentarian accused Pistorius that Germany is even more involved in the conflict by training the Ukrainian military and supplying Kiev with various types of weapons, including tanks.
The deputy pointed out that plans for Ukraine's attack on Crimea and the deployment of NATO bases there appeared a year before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, which "has nothing to do with the right to self-defense."
Earlier, the German Defense Ministry reported that the government of the country is preparing a new package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of € 2.7 billion. Berlin plans to transfer to Kiev 20 additional Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1A5 tanks, 200 reconnaissance drones, logistics vehicles, 4 IRIS-T air defense systems, as well as ammunition. The list includes 18 howitzers and 100 armored vehicles.
On May 14, at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that since February last year, Germany has provided support to Ukraine in the amount of €17 billion. Prior to that, the head of the German government indicated that the amount of assistance that Germany has provided or guaranteed to Kiev since February 2022 is more than €14 billion. He meant not only military aid, but also humanitarian and financial aid.
In the first quarter of this year, the German government approved the supply of military goods to Ukraine totaling almost €497 million. On January 25, the Cabinet of Ministers confirmed that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and issue permission to other countries to re-export these vehicles. On February 7, the Cabinet of Germany approved the supply of 178 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Kiev. On February 24, Germany decided to supply Kiev with 4 more units of equipment from the reserves of the Armed Forces of Germany.