The head of the Bundestag Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s policy on arms supplies to Ukraine, calling for long-term and preventive planning of military assistance to Kyiv. She stated this in an interview with RND, published on Tuesday, December 27.
Strack-Zimmerman called this approach the right one when asked about the need to plan deliveries several months in advance. “This would be the right step, and we must do this in close cooperation with the Ukrainian army and NATO partners. Russia will not stop terrorizing Ukraine.
Germany must develop a scenario with its partners regarding the continuation of support in the coming months,” she stressed, urging not just react to the situation. “Weapons must be delivered preemptively to places where bottlenecks are already occurring,” Strack-Zimmerman said.
According to her, Germany has no strategy. “This is a problem. Always responding to Ukrainian calls for help is not a long-term strategy,” she concluded.
Criticism for refusing to supply tanks to Ukraine
Germany’s refusal to supply Ukraine with battle tanks is “not only incomprehensible but alarmingly short-sighted,” Strack-Zimmerman said. “I’m so tired of excuses why we can’t deliver tanks. Especially when I hear that these deliveries would mean a special provocation to Russia. We have successfully delivered self-propelled howitzers, anti-aircraft guns, artillery systems and high-performance anti-aircraft systems to save thousands of lives. Delivery tanks would now be an important addition to pushing back Russian forces,” she said.
“Whoever fantasizes that a certain red line against Russia will be crossed in this way is telling the story of an aggressor, not a victim,” Strack-Zimmerman stressed, pointing out that the Western world “is looking forward to action from Germany.”
Scholz reveals three principles for the supply of weapons to Ukraine
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba expressed bewilderment at why the German government hesitates to deliver Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and Leopard tanks to Kyiv. In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Scholz explained that Germany follows three principles regarding arms supplies to Ukraine.
“Firstly, we support Ukraine as much as possible. Secondly, we prevent a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. And thirdly, Germany will not act alone. These are the criteria for our decisive and, at the same time, balanced policy, and it will continue to apply next year,” the chancellor said.
When asked what should happen in 2023 for Ukraine to receive Western tanks from Germany still, Scholz pointed to “the danger of a further escalation of the war.”
