Germany offers the Czech Republic weapons for those that Prague sent to Ukraine
Germany offered the Czech Republic military equipment and weapons in exchange for equipment that Prague would provide to the Ukrainian army. The daily Die Welt reported this with reference to its sources at the German Ministry of Defense. German Defense Ministry Christine Lambrecht said at an international conference on Ukraine at the US Ramstein base in Germany on Tuesday that the arms exchange between Ukraine, the German allies and Berlin was one of the ways in which Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government wanted to help Kiev.
Die Welt wrote on his website that, according to a confidential document from the Ministry of Defense, a list of possible weapons equipment that Germany could provide to the Allies as a replacement was already provided.
A week ago, German Foreign Ministry Annalena Baerbock suggested that Germany could lead Marder tracked infantry and Fuchs wheeled armor to Slovenia as a replacement for the T-72 tanks that Ljubljana would supply. About similar compensation T-7 tanks for the Polish negotiations. After Tuesday, the Polish Prime Minister Matez Morawiecki and the Polish Prime Minister were the first
According to unofficial information, the Czechia has not yet been discussed about possible compensations.
The German government has so far been reluctant to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine, but on Tuesday Lambrecht announced that Berlin was the first such combat device to offer Kiev a self-propelled cheetah anti-aircraft system. She asked for it at the beginning of the Russian invasion, but Germany rejected Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk because of the missing city. Germany does not have it even now, but it promised to provide it.
Lambrecht also told reporters at the Ramstein base on Tuesday that Germany wanted to become more involved in mass arms and equipment exchanges, compensating allies from its military supplies for what it provided to the Ukrainians. At the same time, she explicitly mentioned that the exchange would concern Eastern European allies, who were leaving their Soviet equipment to Ukraine.
The former Soviet technology can be operated by the Ukrainian army, which is not the case with Western equipment. In the case of the offered German Cheetahs, critics question whether the Ukrainians can use them effectively due to the lack of training. Compensation to the Allies is also a way for Germany to avoid direct deliveries of heavy weapons while weakening the allegations that Berlin is not helping enough.