German war hesitance fading
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Western allies will support Ukraine for ‘‘as long as it takes’’, during a visit to the White House for a private meeting with United States President Joe Biden.
The two leaders huddled yesterday as the war enters a difficult next phase, with fresh concerns about softening political resolve behind maintaining billions of dollars in military assistance for Kyiv.
Both leaders said they would continue working ‘‘in lockstep’’, and Biden thanked Scholz for helping to ‘‘maintain the pressure’’ on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
China wasn’t mentioned during their brief public remarks in the Oval Office, although the meeting comes as both countries have become increasingly vocal about concerns that Beijing may step off the sidelines and supply weapons to Russia. Such a step could dramatically change the war’s trajectory by allowing Moscow to replenish its depleted stockpiles.
China is Germany’s top trading partner, and European nations have generally been more cautious than the US in taking a hard line with Beijing. However, there are signs that this may be shifting as global rivalries grow more tense. In a speech to the German parliament on Friday, Scholz called on China to ‘‘use your influence in Moscow to press for the withdrawal of Russian troops, and do not supply weapons to the aggressor Russia’’.
The US and Germany have worked closely together to supply Ukraine with military and humanitarian assistance. But there has also been friction over issues such as providing tanks, and Washington has occasionally grown frustrated with Berlin’s hesitance.
The US yesterday announced a new US$400 million (NZ$642m) military aid package for Ukraine that for the first time includes armoured vehicles that can launch bridges – allowing troops to cross rivers or other gaps. Russian and Ukrainian forces
remain entrenched on opposite sides of the Dnieper River.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, the US has sent more than US$32 billion (NZ$51.4b) worth of weapons and equipment. The US is also roughly tripling the number of Ukrainian forces it is training in advanced battle tactics at a base in Germany.
■ Serbia has denied claims that it has exported arms to Ukraine, after Moscow demanded to know if its Balkan ally had delivered thousands of rockets.
Serbian Foreign Minister
Ivica Dacic said no weapons had been exported from Serbia to any of the parties to the conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed ‘‘deepest concern’’ about the reports of rocket deliveries, which first came from pro-government Russian media last month.
The reports said a Serbian state arms factory recently delivered some 3500 missiles for the Grad multiple rocket launchers used by both the Ukrainian and Russian forces. The 122mm rockets were allegedly transported to Ukraine via Turkey and Slovakia.
Serbian Defence Minister Milos Vucevic has denied that his country exported the missiles to Ukraine, but left open the possibility that they could have reached there via a third party.
Flat-packed drones built from cardboard and rubber bands are helping Ukraine to fight the Russians, with at least 100 being sent each month from Australia.
Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia, said their appearance was deceptive.
‘‘It looks like something that kids would play with, but when you see what it can do, it’s really amazing. They have been very good at inflicting lots of damage on the enemy.’’
Made by Sypaq, a Melbourne engineering company, the drones – with a wingspan of about 1.8m – were designed to be expendable, but some have undertaken 60 flights, dropping small bombs, delivering supplies, and carrying out reconnaissance.
Constructed from thick waxcoated cardboard and heavyduty rubber bands that secure the wings, they are controlled by a military-grade guidance system and launched by hand or catapult. They cost A$1000 to A$5000 (NZ$1090 to $5440) each.
Ross Osborne, chief engineer at Sypaq, said the firm had spent a lot of time on the design so that non-specialist operators could use them.
‘‘Ukraine . . . (has) been able to take our system with no training from us, just instructions and videos, and deploy them really successfully,’’ he said.