The transfer of the IRIS-T air defense system to Ukraine was also announced.
Germany announced new arms deliveries to Ukraine, notably the IRIS-T air defense systems and 100 tanks from Greece and Slovakia.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced the supply of weapons during a visit to Lithuania, he reports CNN.
In addition, Germany will create a new armored infantry brigade, which can be quickly relocated to Lithuania if needed.
“We live in serious times, and in these times it is also important to know where we have defense gaps. Air defense is one of those areas where action is needed,” said the minister.
During his visit to Lithuania, Lambrecht met with his Lithuanian counterpart Arvydas Anusauskas to discuss joint military exercises and strengthening the NATO contingent.
Recall that after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – demanded that their region be the largest accumulation of combat-ready NATO forces in Europe since the end of the Cold War.
In Lithuania, Lambrecht said NATO should defend itself more actively against Russia and President Vladimir Putin. According to her, the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance “cannot know how far Putin’s megalomania can go”.
“One thing is certain: the current situation means we need to do more together,” Lambrecht said during a visit to German troops stationed in Lithuania. that the Russian authorities have no limits “.
Problems with the supply of German tanks to Ukraine: details
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht are of the opinion that Ukraine does not need to supply tanks. In particular, Scholz explained it Germany does not send tanks to Ukrainebecause it does not want to cause the widening of the scope of the war.
In July, the head of the Bundestag’s defense commission, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, said that Germany must be abandoned from the so-called circular deliveries of heavy Weapons Ukraine and start supplying it directly. “We have to find the courage to admit that circular deliveries don’t work as we imagined, and consequently we have to move to direct deliveries instead,” Strack-Zimmerman later explained.
On September 22, president Vladimir Zelensky commented on the situation with Germany’s arms supply to Ukraine. The president noted that tanks will not end the war. “Armored vehicles for us “It’s a question of survival of the Ukrainians … They are not just tanks, but also (anti-tank grenade launchers) Matador, they are armored vehicles that Germany has, that we really want and ask from Scholz,” Zelensky said.
