“German weapons save lives”
Makeiev calls tanks vital
01/15/2023 07:49 am
The British are the first to decide to deliver western main battle tanks to Ukraine. Poles and Finns want to follow suit. And what is Germany doing? The Ukrainian ambassador urgently appeals to Berlin – and promises a visit from President Selenskyj.
Before the negotiations between the western allies about further arms deliveries to Ukraine, the Ukrainian ambassador Oleksii Makeiev urged the German government to quickly provide his country with “Leopard 2” battle tanks. “German weapons, German tanks are essential for survival,” he told the German Press Agency. “We have very little time to discuss. And we expect our allies to understand that and act properly.”
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 of its own production Challenger 2. Poland and Finland are ready to supply German-made “Leopard 2” tanks to the European network. The federal government has not yet taken a position on this.
Makeiev said that without the “Leopard” tanks, further reconquest of the Russian-held territories would not be possible. He made it clear that any further delay would cost lives. “German weapons save lives,” he said. “German anti-aircraft systems will help us to intercept the missiles, and the German tanks will help us to liberate territories. And the atrocities committed there by Russian occupying forces will decrease.” The battle tanks were among the “most important instruments of liberation,” Makeiev said. “In Germany they are being discussed, in Ukraine they are needed.”
Makeiev: Fighter jets are also being discussed
Makeiev speaks of a “proxy war”.
(Photo: dpa)
The Ambassador reiterated that Ukraine is fighting this war on behalf of all its allies. “There’s a term for it in German: proxy war,” he said. “No one else is fighting Russia. But the Ukrainians are doing it. Russia is waging a war not only against Ukraine, but against Europe and the whole civilized, democratic world. And in this war, the Ukrainians are at the front.”
According to Makeiev, Ukraine also wants the delivery of combat aircraft. “Fighter jets are under discussion because they also help maintain air sovereignty,” he said. They are “high, but not very high” on the list of priorities. “One should not focus too much on priorities when it comes to arms supplies. Each weapon serves a specific part of our armed forces.”
The ambassador encounters a lack of understanding of the SPD advance
The top diplomat reacted with incomprehension to the SPD parliamentary group’s push for greater diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement with Russia. “I don’t know of any politician who has successfully negotiated with Russia in the last ten years and hasn’t lost any territory,” Makeiev said. Ukraine’s position is clear: “Peace negotiations must result in Russia withdrawing from Ukraine, in war criminals being convicted, in damages being paid by Russia and in no new Russian war ever being able to pose a threat to world peace again.” On Friday, the SPD parliamentary group adopted a foreign policy position paper in which it advocates maintaining the thread of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and launching diplomatic initiatives to end the war.
Makeiev can imagine that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj will come to Germany after his spectacular visit to Washington last year. “I know that my President would very much like to come to Berlin if there is another important breakthrough in aid to Ukraine,” he said. When asked whether the delivery of battle tanks would be such a breakthrough, he said: “I can imagine a lot of important aid that could still be provided. Our German colleagues know what is at stake.”