Baerbock's visit to The Hague is said to be about Putin's accountability - Buschmann: "Special tribunal well conceivable"

Created: 01/16/2023 04:47

By: Richard Strobl

There are problems with tank deliveries from Germany to Ukraine.

The Bundestag military commissioner Högl calls for a higher special fund.

The news ticker on war diplomacy.

• Blaming Putin

  for his

  war

  : Baerbock in The Hague to visit the International Criminal Court

• Special assets

  of the

  Bundeswehr

  : Högl brings drastic increase into the conversation

• German tanks

  not directly

  available

  : Leopard manufacturer declares significant delay in possible availability.

• Switzerland

  blocks arms for

  Ukraine

  : Spain is not allowed to deliver.

• This 

  news ticker

   on diplomacy in the 

  Ukraine war

   is constantly 

  updated

  .

Update from January 15, 8 p.m.:

During a visit to The Hague, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants to discuss ways in which Russian President Vladimir Putin can be held accountable for the war of aggression against Ukraine.

At the International Criminal Court in the Dutch city, the Greens politician wants to meet President Piotr Hofmanski and then Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan this Monday (11:00 a.m.).

Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) told the German Press Agency in Berlin on Sunday evening that the Russian war of aggression was clearly contrary to international law.

He wishes for even more determination and decisiveness in the legal prosecution.

"If it's the quickest and most effective means, I think a special tribunal is conceivable," he added.

Several options are conceivable for such a tribunal.

Ukraine-News: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recalls Ukraine's ammunition shortage

Update from January 15, 12:48 p.m

.: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper (FAS) that Ukraine needed “an enormous amount of ammunition” to ward off the Russian attacks.

NATO is therefore demanding the construction of completely new armaments factories - and the Düsseldorf-based armaments group Rheinmetall is already implementing this, according to the report.

According to the FAS, the company wants to announce the construction of a new ammunition plant in Varpalota, Hungary, next week.

From 2024 onwards, 30-millimeter ammunition is to be manufactured there.

Another plant is being built in Unterlüss, Lower Saxony.

"We are using all opportunities to further expand capacities, for example by introducing two- or three-shift models and hiring new employees," said Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger to

.

"We ask politicians for planning security with regard to future procurements in order to be able to tackle large-volume investments in good time."

Special assets of the Bundeswehr: Högl brings drastic increase into the conversation

Update from January 15, 12:03 p.m

.: Against the background of the Ukraine war, NATO and the German traffic light coalition are demanding that armaments production be ramped up.

, the Bundestag Defense Commissioner Eva Högl (SPD)

discussed a significant increase in the Bundeswehr special fund from 100 to 300 billion euros.

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It would not work "without new production capacities," emphasized Högl, who is being discussed as a possible successor to Christine Lambrecht in the event of the current Defense Minister resigning.

The former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, called for

the establishment of a "war economy" in Europe in the

Ischinger urged that more ammunition be quickly delivered to Ukraine.

A "war economy" means "that we - coordinated in NATO and in Europe - take the initiative and call on the European armaments companies to produce more weapons and more ammunition due to the war."

The background to this are corresponding demands from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Nobel Peace Prize winner insists on German tank delivery to Ukraine

Update from January 15, 11:01 a.m

.: "Every hesitation brings death every day": With these words, the Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matwijtschuk called on the federal government to give up its resistance to the delivery of Western battle tanks to Kiev.

In her country's fight for freedom, "every tank could save lives," she said in the

.

"All the violence we see in Ukraine is the result of decades of impunity that Russia has enjoyed," Matviychuk continued.

Russian troops committed crimes everywhere: in Chechnya, Moldova, Georgia, Mali, Libya and Syria.

"There were no consequences.

And now they think they can do whatever they want," the human rights lawyer said.

"German tanks are essential for survival": Ukraine ambassador appeals to Berlin

First report from January 15

: Kiev/Berlin - "German weapons, German tanks are essential for survival".

With these words, the Ukrainian ambassador Oleksii Makeiev addressed the federal government of Olaf Scholz before the negotiations of the western allies about further arms deliveries to Ukraine.

He wants to deliver in the coming weeks, but according to the manufacturer it's not that easy.

Next Friday, the defense ministers of Ukraine's western allies will meet at the US Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate to discuss further military support for the fight against the Russian attackers.

Great Britain was the first country to announce that it would provide the Ukrainian armed forces with Western-style main battle tanks - namely 14 units of its own production Challenger 2. Poland and Finland are ready to deliver German-made Leopard 2 tanks to the European network.

The federal government has not yet taken a position on this.

But according to Makeiev, Ukraine wants exactly these Leopard tanks.

Tank delivery stops: Leopard manufacturer cannot deliver directly to Ukraine

According to current reports, the Scholz government wants to make a commitment to Leopard soon.

But the manufacturer Rheinmetall is already warning: According to its own statements, the German armaments group could not deliver repaired Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine until 2024 at the earliest.

"Even if the decision is made tomorrow that we can send our Leopard tanks to Kiev, delivery will take until the beginning of next year," Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told

.

Soldiers drive a German Leopard tank during the "Iron Wolf II" military exercise at the Pabrade military training area.

(Archive) © Dirk Waem/dpa

According to Papperger, the armaments group still has 22 Leopard 2 vehicles and 88 Leopard 1 vehicles. “But we cannot repair these tanks without an order, as the costs are several hundred million euros.

Rheinmetall cannot finance that in advance," Papperger told the newspaper.

The repair of the decommissioned main battle tanks took "almost a year", Papperger continued.

"The vehicles are not only repainted, but have to be converted for a war effort." The tanks would be "completely disassembled and then rebuilt."

The Leopard could play a decisive role in the war, said the CEO: "With main battle tanks, an army can break through enemy lines and end a long trench warfare.

With the Leopard, the soldiers can advance tens of kilometers at a time.”

Tanks for Ukraine: Switzerland blocks Spanish delivery

Ukraine has long been demanding the delivery of Leopard tanks.

The debate picked up momentum this week after Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country was ready to do so as part of an international coalition.

However, this would require approval from Germany, the country of manufacture.

Finally, on Saturday, Great Britain became the first country to announce the delivery of heavy battle tanks to Kyiv.

The delivery of the Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems should help the Ukrainian army "push back the Russian troops," said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The British commitment is increasing the pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to also send battle tanks to Ukraine.

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But it is not only in Germany that there are problems with arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Apparently, Switzerland is preventing Spain from delivering war material to Ukraine.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles told the

.

Accordingly, Spain needs the Go of the Confederates to deliver weapons manufactured in Switzerland.

However, the Confederates fear that their neutrality would be called into question should the arms be delivered to Ukraine.

According to

information, Switzerland is also refusing to allow Germany to export cheetah ammunition on the same grounds.

These are produced by the manufacturer Rheinmetall in Switzerland.