German legislators and other politicians are calling on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to lift the ban on supplying the AFU with Leopard main battle tanks and Marders infantry fighting vehicles because they are needed for the quick liberation of the territories captured by the Russian Federation.
The head of the Bundestag defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman, said that “the current advance of the AFU and the first recaptured areas in the east speak of Ukraine’s combat power and unconditional will to return what was captured by Russia.”
“It is of crucial strategic importance that the West now and immediately supplies Ukraine with additional military equipment and heavy weapons. Now is not the time for procrastination and hesitation. In this new phase of the war, Ukraine needs weapons that will allow it to liberate territories,” she said.
SPD foreign policy expert Michael Roth also spoke out for quick support of the Armed Forces with new weapons: “The West, especially the USA, Germany, France, and Poland, should quickly coordinate their actions and adapt their supplies to the new situation.”
Taking into account the recent successes of the AFU, the leader of the Green Party, Omid Nuripour, called for an increase in the supply of German weapons to Kyiv: “Everyone in the government knows that more can be done.
It [weapons] should be delivered not only through the “exchange of rings”, but also, if possible, directly from the warehouses of the Bundeswehr and industry. We should focus on the needs of Ukraine. Right now, before winter comes, we should support Ukraine in liberating as much of its country as possible.”
However, Nuripour agrees with Scholz that regarding the Leopard tanks, “we have to move together with our allies, this is more important than disputes about individual weapons systems.”
CSU defense policy expert Florian Hahn called on the chancellor to supply more weapons to the Armed Forces: “The current development of events in Ukraine shows that, given the necessary means, Putin’s desire to invade can be successfully repelled. Berlin should finally give up its reluctance and supply more weapons.”
SPD Chairman Lars Klingbeil called for a quick review by the West of the further supply of weapons to Ukraine. After the UDF de-occupation of the territories in the east, he said it was “a huge success, and it’s also due to the fact that the West, Germany, we have supplied an incredible amount of weapons in the last weeks and months. And this must continue. It will continue.”
“But of course, we in the Western alliance also have to assess: should we put more weapons now? And it has to happen quickly,” Klingbeil said. He also, like Scholz, ruled out that Germany would act alone in the supply of MBT: he wants coordination of actions with France and the USA.
CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter made a similar statement: “In order for the counteroffensive to be successful in the long term and for Ukraine to return and defend its territory, all possible military support is now needed. Germany could immediately deploy Marder and Leopard.” He urged the chancellor and defense minister Christine Lambrecht to abandon their cautious approach to supporting Ukraine with tanks.
