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Bundeswehr soldier with »Panzerfaust 3«
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / picture alliance / dpa
Germany will supply more weapons to Ukraine attacked by Russia.
According to government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, the deliveries should be based on what Germany has already provided.
After the Russian invasion, the government announced that it would support the Ukrainian army with, among other things, 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 "Stinger" surface-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks.
The promise of deliveries to a war zone had marked a reversal in German defense policy.
Shortly thereafter, Germany wanted to send another 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine.
However, since some of the weapons have significant deficiencies, according to SPIEGEL information, only a maximum of 2,000 of the missiles can still be used.
The weapons still come from GDR stocks.
Ukraine recently announced that it had received 500 Strela missiles so far.
In March, Kyiv asked the federal government for more weapons.
Among other things, it was about various tanks, artillery systems and drones and fighter jets.
In addition, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has long been calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
The federal government and NATO reject this because it would then be feared that the war would spread beyond the borders of Ukraine due to direct fighting between Russian and NATO units.
Bundeswehr stocks apparently exhausted
Government spokesman Hebestreit referred to Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD).
They said that you could order appropriate weapons directly from armaments companies.
Lambrecht had declared that no further material could be delivered from Bundeswehr stocks.
The government spokesman did not say how much money the federal government intends to spend on such arms purchases for Ukraine.
Lambrecht had defended the secrecy of the federal government in connection with the deliveries on Sunday.
"We don't talk about it publicly," Lambrecht said on the talk show "Anne Will."
The time horizon for possible further deliveries also remains unclear.
Departure dates and routes were announced for the first deliveries, Lambrecht said.
This put the lives of those involved in the transport at risk.
“And for that reason we will not speak publicly about the number of weapons, nor when they will be delivered, nor by what means.
Because we want the weapons to get to where they are urgently needed.«
fek/Reuters/dpa