Defence minister tells meeting of military leaders that government has agreed to sign off delivery
The German government is expected to use the occasion of a high-level defence meeting on supportingto announce that it will send a fleet of anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, as it attempts to offset criticism that it has been too slow to provide military equipment to the war-torn country.
On Tuesday, the leader of the opposition conservative alliance, Friedrich Merz, accused Scholz of being “irresponsible”, arguing that not delivering the weapons would render Germany’s deterrence policies null and void, particularly in the Baltic region.In an interview at the weekend, Merz said: “Criticism abroad is growing and Germany is increasingly isolated”.
The delivery of the Gepard systems has been under discussion for weeks in Germany. The Munich-based armoured vehicle manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann announced its readiness weeks ago to revamp the Gepards. They were previously in the possession of the German army for whom KMW designed them in the 1970s. They would, after a short period for overhaul, be ready to be delivered to Ukraine via rail.
On Friday, responding to criticism, he had been too hesitant and vague in his decision-making over Ukraine, including over plans to switch from supplies of Russian gas, Scholz said in an interview. He added he was not driven by fear, but by “political responsibility”, arguing he was “doing everything in order to avoid an escalation which could lead to a third world war”.
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