Germany delivered that
100,000 hand grenades for Ukraine
4/21/2022 5:46 am
The federal government is keeping a low profile when it comes to providing information about arms deliveries, but what has been received so far from Ukraine is known. Machine guns, anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, for example. But what Kyiv most urgently wants is not on the list.
Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has received a good 2,500 anti-aircraft missiles, 900 anti-tank rocket launchers with 3,000 rounds of ammunition, 100 machine guns and 15 bunker launchers with 50 rockets from Germany. In addition, there are 100,000 hand grenades, 2,000 mines, around 5,300 explosive charges and more than 16 million rounds of ammunition of various calibers for handguns from assault rifles to heavy machine guns, according to Ukrainian government circles.
The list does not include heavy weapons such as tanks or artillery. Two days after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the German government decided to deliver weapons to the war zone – breaking a taboo. Initially, the federal government announced which weapons it was supplying, but not for a long time. Members of the Bundestag can only obtain information about this from the secret protection agency.
The weapons mentioned in Ukrainian government circles have already arrived in the war zone. The list also includes 1000 machine gun spare parts, 100,000 detonating cords and 250,000 igniters.
Scholz explained how to proceed with the arms deliveries on Tuesday. After that, the federal government no longer wants to deliver weapons from Bundeswehr stocks because it is of the opinion that the troops can then no longer fulfill their tasks in the defense of the country and the alliance. Instead, the federal government wants to finance direct arms deliveries from industry to Ukraine. The money pot for this is to be replenished from 225 million to two billion euros, as Scholz announced last week.
The delivery of weapons of Soviet design from Eastern European NATO countries to the Ukraine is also to be made possible via an exchange of rings. Individual countries should receive replacements from Germany for this. Other allies who send more modern equipment should be supported with ammunition and training. For example, Germany wants to indirectly participate in the delivery of heavy artillery from the Netherlands or the USA to Ukraine.