The publication writes that the reluctance to supply weapons to Kiev calls into question the reliability of Germany in front of the Western allies. Spiegel recalled the position of the German government not to supply weapons to crisis regions, as this could aggravate the conflict or weapons could fall into the wrong hands, as was the case in Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power.
At the same time, journalists gave an example of the violation of this principle by the Federal Republic of Germany: in 2014, Germany armed Kurdish fighters who fought against ISIS terrorists, grenade launchers and this helped stop the advance of the militants.
Spiegel noted that the supply of weapons could be a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the unity of the West in confronting its threats.
The publication writes that it is not known whether weapons will help prevent war, however, “what is certain is that differences make war more likely.”
The journalists also said that Germany should at least not interfere with the supply of weapons to Ukraine to other countries.
Context:
Spring 2021 Russia build up troops near the border with Ukraine and in the occupied Crimea. At the end of October, the American media began to report that Russia again pulling troops to the border with Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on January 28, innear the Ukrainian border now about 112 thousand military of the Russian Federation, with a marine and aviation component – about 130 thousand people.
Western countries and NATO have repeatedly called on Russia to de-escalate.
The White House announced on January 18 that Russia can start an invasion at any moment to Ukraine. In particular, the United States is concerned the movement of Russian troops for exercises in Belarus. United States, according to US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, see all the signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to use military force against Ukraine “now or possibly in mid-February.” However, it is not known whether he has made a final decision, she said.
On January 24, after the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, which considered, in particular, issues of national security, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that “everything is calm, there is no reason to panic”. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexei Danilov on the same day said that a full-scale invasion of Russia now impossibleand emphasized that no reason to panic.
Against the backdrop of rising tensions, a number of Western states, in particular USA, Great Britain, Baltic countries, stepped up military support for Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the war in 2014, Germany has provided financial assistance to Ukraine (in the first five years alone, the amount of assistance amounted to over €1.4 billion), helps to heal Ukrainian servicemen wounded in Donbass. However, all this time Berlin refused from providing arms and is known to have blocked arms shipments in 2021 Ukraine through NATO, despite US warnings of a possible new Russian invasion.
After the change of government, Germany’s position regarding supplies Ukraine’s defense weapons have not changed, Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said at the beginning of 2022. In addition, as I wrote on January 21 The Wall Street Journal, now Germany is blocking the transfer of weapons of German origin by Estonia to Ukraine.
The current German policy towards Russia does not meet the requirements NATO, the EU and Germany’s partners and “our time” in general, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said on January 25. Berlin’s actions were also criticized in Poland.
Germany will provide Ukraine with 5 thousand military protective helmets, Lambrecht said on January 26. By providing such assistance, Germany “gives a clear signal” that it supports Ukraine, the head of the defense department said.
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