According to a survey, the German government’s decision to deliver Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine has met with mixed responses. In a survey by the opinion research institute Insa for the “Bild am Sonntag”, 49 percent find the decision rather wrong and 40 percent rather right. 50 percent reject the delivery of battle tanks, 38 percent are in favor.
The federal government made its decision public on Thursday to deliver around 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. Union and parts of the governing parties FDP and Greens are also calling for battle tanks to be sent to the country attacked by Russia.
It would be wrong to stop at the promise for Marder infantry fighting vehicles, said Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “We should do and deliver everything that is possible. This also includes Leopard tanks,” emphasized the Green politician.
Kubicki insists on close coordination with NATO partners
The FDP politician Wolfgang Kubicki, also Vice President of the Bundestag, told the Funke newspapers that it “could be sensible to supply not only Marder but also Leopard tanks”. It is important to maintain Ukraine’s defense capability. However, the FDP deputy leader warned that every further step in supporting Ukraine must be closely coordinated with the NATO partners. He doesn’t think much of Germany going it alone on this issue.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil also made it clear in the RTL/ntv interview: “No country is delivering battle tanks that are as heavy as the Leopard 1 or 2.” It is “right that the Americans, the French, but also we as the German government, are constantly considering whether we can now be involved in this war.” It was always important for the federal government not to have Germans go it alone. In an interview with the editorial network Germany (RND), Klingbeil called the delivery of armored personnel carriers “a signal that the western alliance is acting in close coordination and is continuing to back Ukraine”. He sees the year 2023 as decisive for the course of the war.
