Germany accused of reneging on arms pledge

Germany was accused of backtracking on its pledge to buy heavy weapons for Ukraine yesterday, amid reports it vetoed key items requested by Kyiv.

Olaf Scholz’s government this week pledged £830 million (NZ$1.6b) to supply Ukraine with weapons to fight Russia’s assault on the Donbas.

But Berlin quietly removed heavy weapons including tanks and armoured personnel carriers from a shopping list agreed with Kyiv, according to details leaked to Bild newspaper.

Scholz’s government defended its actions and said it was in talks with Nato and European Union partners to supply the weapons in question.

Christine Lambrehct, the German defence minister, said talks were at an advanced stage and she expected an agreement in ‘‘the next few days’’.

According to details leaked to Bild, Germany only agreed to supply three of 15 types of weapons requested by Ukraine.

Items rejected included Leopard tanks, multiple rocket launchers (MLRS), armoured personnel carriers and howitzers.

Germany now claims it will instead seek agreements with unnamed allies to supply Ukraine with tanks and other heavy weapons from their Soviet-era stocks.

Under the proposed exchange, Berlin will pay to replace the items in questions with new, modern weapons from German manufacturers.

‘‘It’s about tanks, it’s about armoured personnel carriers, it’s about different options that individual countries have to give up. We’re currently talking about that and it’s going very quickly now,’’ Lambrecht told German television.

‘‘It’s a matter of the next few days. All military experts are certain that the next two weeks will be decisive weeks in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, and we have to support this fight, and that’s why it’s very quick.’’

Scholz has come under intense pressure after he refused to supply Ukraine with any more weapons from German military stocks this week.

He claimed it would leave Germany unable to defend itself or meet its Nato obligations.

Scholz pledged instead to ‘‘enable Ukraine to buy commercially produced military equipment’’ and promised £830m to buy Kyiv all the weapons it needs.

But that commitment has been questioned after the details leaked to Bild suggested Berlin had vetoed most of the weapons on Ukraine’s list and agreed to only £255m of purchases.

‘‘The weapons we need are not even on this list,’’ Andrij Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, complained earlier this week.

The talks with European allies on a possible weapons exchange may go some way to assuaging Ukrainian concerns, but Germany has so far refused to name the countries or weapons in question.

The proposals will also come under intense scrutiny over their similarity to schemes that have failed in the past.

In the early stages of the war

Poland offered to supply Ukraine with MiG fighters in exchange for newer American aircraft.

But the scheme foundered when it became clear no-one wanted the responsibility of actually delivering the fighters to Ukraine.

The new proposals also bear a striking resemblance to the plans for Germany to supply Ukraine with light tanks which prompted Scholz to offer money instead.

Under the plans, Germany was to send Kyiv 100 Marder infantry fighting vehicles from its own stocks, and take decommissioned vehicles in their place.

Ukraine has already ordered 100 decommissioned Marders from the German manufacturer Rheinmetall but it will be months before they can be made operational.

Scholz vetoed the scheme, arguing it would leave the German armed forces dangerously underequipped.

German government sources insist similar concerns do not apply to the countries involved in current talks, which they say have unwanted Soviet-era weapons in storage.

They claim another advantage of the scheme is that Ukrainian troops already know how to operate the Soviet weapons and will not need new training.

But the issue continues to heap pressure on Scholz.

The German opposition is considering forcing a vote in parliament on delivering heavy weapons to Ukraine next week.

Scholz’s coalition is divided on the question and he could face an embarrassing defeat. –