Tuesday the 31st of May 2022 Germany said it will send heavy weapons to Ukraine, after the criticism that it was holding back arms in deference to Vladimir Putin.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany stepped up its commitment to NATO and pledged to meet the suggested threshold of 2% of spending on defence after Russian invaded Ukraine, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has since been accused of inaction. Last month, German opposition leader Friedrich Merz accused Scholz of “dithering and timidity”. While speaking to Germany’s parliament on Wednesday, Scholz scrambled to defend his government’s record and said Germany would send Ukraine IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems.
Also, he said Germany has sent plenty of equipment to Ukraine, listing 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 hand grenades, and 5,000 anti-tank mines. However, some leaked documents published by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Tuesday showed that Germany has sent only two deliveries of weapons to Ukraine since March 30. According to Welt am Sonntag newspaper’s report, the documents also show that Ukraine asked Germany for Harpoon anti-ship missiles, but Germany did not grant the request.
The slowdown came as Russia was pressuring Ukraine’s allies not to send powerful military equipment to Ukraine. In a call, Putin warned Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday against sending arms to Ukraine, saying it would risk “further destabilization of the situation”. Recently, experts told correspondents that the current state of Russia’s invasion is about to freeze, with the front lines staying more fixed and combat becoming more attritional, meaning long-range weapons will become more important.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said on Monday the 30th of May that the US would not supply Ukraine with long-range missile systems capable of reaching Russian territory.