Hofreiter insists on delivery: “Ukraine needs ‘Leopard 2’ more urgently than the Bundeswehr”

Hofreiter insists on delivery
“Ukraine needs ‘Leopard 2’ more urgently than the Bundeswehr”

01/19/2023, 4:15 p.m

Before the meeting of the Ukraine-supporting countries in Ramstein on Friday, from the point of view of the Green politician Anton Hofreiter, there is no way around the delivery of “Leopard 2” battle tanks – also from Germany. Ukraine must once again be supported “on a different level” in order to fend off the threatening Russian offensive. Regarding reports that Chancellor Scholz had tried to put pressure on US President Biden on the issue of tank deliveries, Hofreiter said: “I really hope that’s not true.”

ntv.de: What are your expectations of the meeting in Ramstein? what has to happen

Anton Hofreiter: We have to realize that Russia is preparing a new offensive and that Ukraine, especially the tanks, is running out of ammunition. In order to repel Russian attacks and regain control of its territory, Ukraine needs another level of support. The USA is already doing a lot.

And Germany?

Germany has limited options. One of the options we still have is to support Ukraine with “Leopard 2”. That’s why I expect that in Ramstein, not only Poland, Finland and other countries will be allowed to export them, but that we ourselves will also provide equipment.

Can Germany help so quickly if you know that the devices stored by the manufacturer will still need many months to be upgraded? Or do you also want to explicitly withdraw “Leopard 2” from the Bundeswehr?

In principle, the Bundeswehr needs its own tanks. But in Ukraine they are needed much more urgently. That’s why we should now remove some from the Bundeswehr’s inventory and start procurement immediately. Almost a year after February 27th, when the turning point was announced, it is high time to implement it.

Do you have the impression that these scenarios were prepared at all by the Chancellery? that the how was prepared before the if?

My concern is that this has not been prepared. And we already have a more than questionable precedent: the “Marder” infantry fighting vehicle. If the Chancellery and the Federal Ministry of Defense had said to the industry in good time “Prepare the ‘Marten’!”, then we would definitely have had enough to deliver them now. Instead, the industry was left in the dark, then Greece was promised part of the “Marder”, and finally the defense minister had to beg the Greek government for Germany to send the infantry fighting vehicles promised in Athens to Ukraine first. In this way, the federal government is gambling away trust – not only in the Ukraine and with our Eastern and Central European partners, but also with our Western European friends. Now there is a danger that exactly this scenario will be repeated with the “Leopard 2”.

How do you rate reports that Olaf Scholz is said to have blackmailed US President Joe Biden into making the “Leopard” delivery dependent on the delivery of American Abrams tanks?

I really hope that’s not true. Americans are already annoyed that the federal government regularly hides behind their backs. American aid to Ukraine is outstanding. In addition, it is known that for a number of technical reasons, the Abrams tank is technically significantly less suitable for use in Ukraine than the “Leopard”.

You allude to the difficult power supply because the Abram runs on kerosene?

This is reported again and again, but it is not true. The Abrams has a multi-fuel turbine, so it can also run on other fuels. But its chain is considered more vulnerable than that of the “Leopard 2”. This, in turn, has already proven to be very robust and comparatively safe for the crew in use. This was shown, for example, when the Canadians used the “Leopard 2” during the war in Afghanistan, where it proved itself. The Ukrainian government explicitly wants the “Leopard 2” and has good reasons for this.

Sebastian Huld spoke to Anton Hofreiter