The Chancellor is no longer opposed to delivering tanks to the war zone – at least indirectly. Other NATO states that hand over their offensive weapons to Ukraine are to receive models from Germany in return. Is that enough for the Scholz critics?
This T-72 tank was captured by Ukrainian soldiers from the Russian invading troops. The picture was taken at the end of March in the Kyiv area.
Germany was on the brink of a government crisis this week after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD blocked the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. From the ranks of the coalition partners FDP and Greens came ever louder appeals to support the Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invasion with tanks and artillery from German stocks. But now a magic word is haunting Berlin that could calm the waves. We are talking about the “ring exchange”.
Under this concept, the federal government wants to be involved in the delivery of heavy weapons for Ukraine, and indirectly: the NATO partner state Slovenia is to give a larger number of its T-72 battle tanks to Ukraine, and as compensation the Balkan state is to receive tanks from Germany . Slovenia uses a Yugoslav variant of the T-72 main battle tank. The vehicle, which dates back to the Soviet era, has a decisive advantage: it is already being used by the Ukrainian army and requires no additional training.
Germany must not allow Russia to win this war of aggression, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said this week. However, further deliveries from Bundeswehr depots are not planned. “We are reaching our limits,” said the Social Democrat. Otherwise the Federal Republic could no longer guarantee the defense of the country and the alliance.
Not only Ukraine benefits from the “ring exchange”
How does this statement fit into the ring exchange, in which Germany also wants to give up heavy war equipment? Apparently, the tanks are not supposed to come from the stocks of the Bundeswehr, but are to be gradually supplied by the German armaments industry. By the way, the first ring exchange took place a few weeks ago. At that time, Slovakia delivered S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine – and in return received Patriot anti-aircraft systems from Germany. Poland is also said to have planned such an exchange with the USA, in which the country would receive American tanks and in return give its T-72 tanks to Ukraine.
“The ring exchange is a very good solution,” said the FDP member of the Bundestag Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of the NZZ. The Ukrainians were given weapon systems that they would be familiar with and could use immediately. However, the FDP had made the proposal earlier. Strack-Zimmermann heads the Defense Committee of the German Parliament and was one of the few top German politicians to travel to Ukraine after the outbreak of war. She advocated more intensive German military aid early on and repeatedly criticized Chancellor Scholz.
The Netherlands deliver self-propelled howitzers
In fact, other Western countries are doing significantly more than Germany: The USA, for example, is supplying eleven combat helicopters and hundreds of armored vehicles and kamikaze drones to Kyiv. The Americans are also providing 18 self-propelled howitzers. The Netherlands also want to deliver such heavy artillery pieces. It is said to be the Panzerhaubitze 2000 model, which was produced in Germany and is also used by the Bundeswehr. Germany at least wants to take over the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the gun.
In a release on Friday Interview with the “Spiegel” Chancellor Scholz defended himself against the accusation that his government only half-heartedly supported Ukraine. “We supplied anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft equipment, ammunition, vehicles and a lot of material from the stocks of the Bundeswehr that directly helped Ukraine in its defensive struggle,” he said. The day before, detailed information about the volume had leaked from Ukrainian government circles for the first time. According to this, Germany has supplied, among other things, 2,500 anti-aircraft missiles, 900 rocket-propelled grenades, 100 machine guns and more than 16 million rounds of ammunition. In addition, thousands of mines and explosive charges were sent to Kyiv.
The FDP defense politician Strack-Zimmermann criticizes that these figures only found their way to the public via the Ukrainian government circles. As soon as such arms deliveries have been completed, one can talk about it, she says: “Other countries do it too. Enlightenment is better than making a big secret out of it.”
Scholz warns of a “nuclear war”
This also applies to the Chancellor’s communication policy. At an unfortunate press conference last Tuesday, he also referred to a weapons list allegedly coordinated with Ukraine. To the annoyance of representatives of the Ukrainian government, however, there were apparently no heavy weapons on it. According to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, the German government had removed them from the list without further ado.
Why? Scholz does not provide a convincing explanation in the “Spiegel” interview either – although he is repeatedly asked about the refusal to deliver heavy weapons directly. First he argues with the alliance’s defense and the bottlenecks in the Bundeswehr, then again with the fact that Ukrainian soldiers are not familiar with Western equipment. Elsewhere, fears of Russian retaliation for military aid shine through. The term “nuclear war” is used several times. The chancellor does not mention that supplying arms does not make Germany a party to the conflict, at least from the point of view of international law.