Minister, can you understand Ukraine’s desire for German Leopard 2 tanks?
Yes.
And do you also share the assumption of your Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba that Germany and other Western countries are hiding behind a psychological barrier?
A country at war, which has to experience every day in the most brutal way that friends, parents, siblings die, rightly wants all the help and military support it can give. No matter what. We, in turn, who are fortunate enough to continue to live in peace and security – also because Ukraine is defending our European peace order – have a double responsibility: not only to promise this help, but also to deliver it. And at the same time the responsibility that the war does not spread to other countries. That is why, at the very beginning of this war, we spoke out against a no-fly zone, even though my heart bled, because that would have meant that we ourselves would have become a war party against Russia. Instead, we made a radical change in German policy and have since been supplying weapons, including heavy weapons, so that Ukraine can defend itself. And the last few days and weeks have shown how important these international deliveries are. State-of-the-art western weapon systems make a massive difference. Our Cheetah tanks, self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers help to finally liberate occupied places in the east and to eliminate Russian air forces and important Russian positions in a targeted manner.
Would the achievements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces influence a decision regarding the supply of tanks?
Naturally. Our arms deliveries obviously help very clearly to save human lives. So a foreign policy based on human rights should constantly ask itself how we can help to liberate even more villages and thus save lives through further deliveries. Bucha, Mariupol and now the liberated towns of Kupyansk, Izyum and Balakliya have shown us in a terrifying way what suffering the people of eastern and southern Ukraine face if they are not liberated. People are arbitrarily shot, raped or abducted – regardless of whether they are men, women, the elderly or small children. Each additional week of Russian occupation means a new week of more war crimes. The coming months are therefore crucial.
You yourself would be for the supply of tanks?
#Interview #Baerbock #weapons #save #lives
