Germany halts heavy weapon deliveries to Ukraine, Bild reports — but that’s not the full story

The halt likely applies only to Bundeswehr stockpiles.

Oct 14, 2024 - 03:00

Germany halts heavy weapon deliveries to Ukraine, Bild reports — but that’s not the full story

Leopard 2A4 operated by members of the Ukrainian Army. Illustrative image, photo credit: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

According to a Bild report citing a government document, Germany will no longer send heavy equipment to Kyiv.

Despite being Ukraine’s second-largest weapons supplier after the US, the flow of arms remains critically insufficient for Ukraine to achieve a decisive victory over Russia despite promises of support “for as long as it takes.”

The German Ministry of Defense reportedly doubts Ukraine will launch a significant offensive to reclaim its territories soon. As a result, after delivering 18 Leopard 2 tanks, no additional tanks or heavy equipment—such as infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, and self-propelled howitzers—are planned, despite the Bundeswehr having around 300 Leopard tanks available.

However, according to Militarnyi, this likely applies only to Bundeswehr stockpiles. Future deliveries will come through contracts with Germany’s defense industry, which has committed to supplying new heavy armor and artillery to Ukraine through 2028.

Per Bild, during his recent European tour, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made two key requests to Chancellor Olaf Scholz:

approval to use Western-supplied weapons against strategic targets in Russia, including Storm Shadow missiles from the UK, SCALP missiles from France, and Taurus missiles from Germany
an accelerated NATO membership process with security guarantees against Russia.

Bild reports that these requests were met with little enthusiasm in Berlin. While Scholz didn’t outright reject them, he didn’t offer a positive response either. Scholz has previously refused to supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

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