Arms delivery to Ukraine - at the expense of its own army?
Created: 04/26/2022, 15:49
By: Linus Prien
The Dutch government plans to supply self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
The army protested that the weapon systems should be needed for their own rearmament.
Amsterdam - In the Netherlands, a planned delivery of self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine is met with resistance from the military.
"I understand the need to support Ukraine, but at the same time we are expected to put our armed forces in order, and these self-propelled howitzers are a good tool for that purpose," said Dutch Officers' Association chairman Niels van Woensel, who Amsterdam newspaper
De Telegraaf
.
The question of which weapon systems the Bundeswehr could do without was also discussed in Germany.
Since the start of the escalating Ukraine conflict, the Ukrainian government has been asking its partners to supply weapons.
Ukraine War: Weapons for Ukraine may be needed at home
The Dutch army was frustrated because the guns were needed to increase the effectiveness of their own army.
The defense minister not only had to weigh up the interests of Ukraine, but also those of her own country.
“One should assume that The Hague will make a more comprehensive assessment of interests, as is the case in Germany.
There, the Chancellor is reluctant to give up heavy weapons because, like our country, there are few of them," said van Woensel.
In connection with the delivery of heavy weapons from Bundeswehr stocks, the Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Markus Laubenthal, told ZDF: "We would no longer be able to react to eventualities, and that would significantly weaken our ability to defend ourselves".
Others have argued that Germany could no longer meet its NATO obligations if certain heavy weapons systems were shipped to Ukraine.
In the meantime, the federal government is also in favor of the delivery of some heavy weapons.
Ukraine war: weapons systems could be too complicated
It must be taken into account that these are weapons that require months of training.
"Ukraine is now asking to send everything that is available, which is logical from their point of view, but what use are these parts in reality," asked the head of the officers' association.
"And how reasonable were you, as a Dutchman, if such a piece of artillery was knocked out in a day?"
A former lieutenant general interviewed by the
Telegraaf
also pointed to the danger that one of the Panzerhaubitzen 2000 - in his view one of the best weapon systems available - would fall into the hands of the Russians.
"If that happens, a few days later it will be disassembled into parts in Russia and the Russians can rebuild it."
Panzerhaubitze 2000 © Björn Trotsky via www.imago-images.de
Weapons deliveries thwart Dutch rearmament plans
According to the newspaper report, the Netherlands has 24 operational Panzerhaubitze 2000 guns made in Germany.
Another 29 howitzers from an earlier series are in the depot.
They have been stored there for many years because once they were procured there was a lack of money, staff and the need to put them into operation.
The original plan was to use twelve of the howitzers by 2023 to upgrade the Dutch armed forces.
With the delivery of an as yet unspecified number of howitzers to Ukraine, these plans have come under pressure.
(dpa/lp)
