The FRG government has been ignoring Ukraine's requests for further arms deliveries for several months now. Over the past ten weeks, Ukrainian diplomats have repeatedly raised the issue of arms deliveries with the German Defense Ministry, but the Defense Ministry, just like the Federal Chancellor's office, appears to have shelved the relevant requests, Die Welt reported.
According to the newspaper, the German Defense Ministry has held several high-level meetings each month since June, in which the head of the ministry, Christine Lambrecht, also took part. During these meetings, the Ukrainian side each time asked Germany to continue supplying it with the types of weapons that had already been supplied earlier, self-propelled Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery guns and Mars II multiple-launch rocket systems. Germany has already delivered ten such howitzers and three MLRS to Kiev, DW reports.
The Ukrainian side also insisted that the German defense industry be allowed to export tanks and armored vehicles to Ukraine. Back in April, Ukraine received a proposal from Rheinmetall to buy a hundred Marder BMPs and 88 Leopard-1 tanks, including ammunition and instruction, for €268 million. According to the manufacturer, the equipment was "quickly prepared," but there was no response from the Federal Chancellor's Office.
In mid-August, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov personally discussed the problem over the phone with his German counterpart Lambrecht. Earlier, the same topic was discussed over the phone by the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak and the Federal Chancellor's foreign policy adviser Jens Plötner who says their requests were always listened to and recorded, but there have been no results so far, sources in the Ukrainian government said.
The German Defense Ministry responded to Die Welt's inquiry by saying that the ministry was in contact with the Ukrainian side on many levels with the aim of providing Ukraine the best support in the fight against the Russian aggressor, but gave no specific details.
