Der Spiegel predicted Germany will have a long wait for new howitzers after helping Ukraine

It will take Germany three years to purchase 10 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery mounts (ACS) for the Bundeswehr. This was announced on Thursday, March 16, by the magazine Der Spiegel.

It is noted that earlier Germany supplied Ukraine with 14 howitzers of this type.

Prior to this, on March 12, the Bild newspaper also reported that the German government plans to purchase Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers, as the German army is experiencing a shortage of artillery due to supplies to Ukraine.

According to the publication, the government intends to spend about €154.7 million on the purchase of howitzers. It is noted that the budget committee of the Bundestag should make such a decision on March 29.

On March 3, military expert Ilya Kramnik, in an interview with Izvestia, announced the depletion of weapons stocks in NATO countries. According to the military expert, replenishment of stockpiles of weapons from NATO countries will take several years. At the same time, the Financial Times newspaper wrote that ammunition stocks in Germany were severely depleted, and €20 billion was needed to replenish them.

Earlier, on February 28, the head of the German Ministry of Defense, Boris Pistorius, said that the state of the Bundeswehr at the present time would not allow them to hold back the defense in the event of an attack by a potential enemy. According to the minister, the Bundeswehr is unable to protect either NATO allies or even its own citizens.

At the end of January, The Economist magazine wrote that the Bundeswehr was in the most deplorable state than ever in history. It was noted that due to the support of Ukraine, the German military departments can hardly cope with providing their own army.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, the decision on which was made against the backdrop of aggravation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.