“In our view, the arguments why the tanks are not being delivered to Ukraine are not at all convincing,” said Melnyk. “If the federal government does not want to go it alone with the delivery, then Germany could pursue a leading role on the continent, forge a European tank alliance.”
The former Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin called on the federal government to do “everything that helps Ukraine to fend off this Russian attack and to save human lives”. This must happen “today and not at some point”. According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, in addition to Leopard and Marder tanks, Ukraine still needs German Fuchs and Wiesel armored vehicles and ammunition.
Referring to the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington, Melnyk also spoke out in favor of Germany supplying the Patriot air defense system. The USA had promised one and massively increased aid to Kyiv overall. “The Ukrainians hope that Chancellor Scholz and the traffic light coalition will also follow the American example in order to massively increase military support for my homeland without ifs and buts. That also includes German Patriot systems,” said Melnyk.
During Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington, the United States promised for the first time to deliver a Patriot air defense system as part of a $1.85 billion (around €1.74 billion) aid package. Kyiv has been pushing for the deployment of this system for weeks in view of the ongoing massive Russian attacks on its infrastructure. The federal government rejects this. Instead, two Patriot squadrons were deployed to Slovakia to protect NATO territory. The system will also be made available in Poland in the near future.
