The federal government's repeated no infuriated Ukraine. Nonetheless, the ambassador does the same. Within the traffic light, there are also concerns regarding the cancellation.
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Ukraine is not giving up, despite the German government's categorical rejection of armament supply. The Ukrainian envoy in Berlin is now mentioning specific weapon systems that his nation hopes to obtain from Germany in order to protect against a hypothetical Russian assault.
"It's largely about German warships, which are among the greatest in the world and which we urgently want for the robust defense of the long coast in the Black and Azov Seas," stated German Press Agency Ambassador Andriy Melnyk.
"There is the same enormous demand for the most sophisticated air defense systems, which are now produced by German arms industries," the diplomat noted.
However, in the traffic light coalition, there are some who are skeptical of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's harsh approach (Greens). "We should consider providing defensive weaponry to Ukraine," Defense Committee chairperson Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann told Bild. These, however, must be properly specified.
Ukraine has been requesting armaments from Germany for years in order to protect itself against a possible Russian assault, but has so far been unsuccessful. Scholz delivered a resounding rebuff to Kiev on Tuesday.
"For many years, the German federal government has pursued a similar stance on this subject." "That also means we don't export fatal weapons," the SPD politician explained. "That has not altered since the change of administration in December of last year."
Baerbock (Greens) also refuted the report during her visit to Kiev on Monday. German history also informs the attitude toward arms supplies and a limited arms export policy.
This reasoning infuriated Melnyk. "It is astonishing that in Berlin, the notion of historical responsibility is also invoked as a reason for refusing military help," he remarked.
"This obligation should be assigned to the Ukrainian people, who lost at least eight million lives during Germany's Nazi occupation of Ukraine," Melnyk stated. It's unfortunate that "German society still lacks sensitivity on this problem."
The Ambassador emphasized that the topic of arms delivery will continue to be on the table in ties with Germany. "Ukraine urgently needs defensive armaments, including from Germany, to drive up the price of this invasion so dramatically that the Kremlin boss is dissuaded from his insane course," Melnyk warned.
"Unfortunately, there is still a lack of political will in Germany, which is really sad in light of Europe's severe threat of war."
Henning Otte, a CDU defense lawmaker, stated unequivocally in the "Bild" newspaper that "if Ukraine requests for defensive weaponry to be able to fend off a future Russian assault, we must not deny this request."
It is not a reasonable approach to hide behind a "restrictive armaments policy from the coalition agreement." Otte stated unequivocally that delivering anti-aircraft missiles is also an option for him.