Rheinmetall wants to deliver the Leopard 2 main battle tank to Ukraine.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The armaments group Rheinmetall wants to supply battle tanks to Ukraine. In total, there are still 110 vehicles that could be handed over to Kyiv, the Handelsblatt learned from Berlin circles. In addition to 88 units of the older Leopard 1 model, Rheinmetall also offers 20 Leopard 2s, which are currently also in service with the Bundeswehr. The company declined to comment.
At the end of last week, the group applied to the Federal Ministry of Economics for the export of 88 Leopard 1. The authority did not comment on this. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is formally responsible for the export license, but ultimately the decision rests with the Federal Security Council and thus with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). While Habeck definitely supports the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine, Scholz brakes.
With the export application, Rheinmetall is now putting the Chancellor under pressure. If Germany rejects the export of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine, then the criticism from home and abroad should be enormous. With the export application, the industry and Ukraine are forcing the federal government to show its colors, a person familiar with the process told the Handelsblatt.
However, the decision does not lie with the German government alone. The Leopard 1 tranche is to be delivered from Italy, with the newer Leopard 2 model Switzerland would have to agree, as the Handelsblatt learned. The tanks are currently in their area. For all armaments manufactured in Germany, the Federal Government reserves the right to require approval for end use.
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According to Berlin circles, Rheinmetall also wants to apply to the federal government for the export of the 20 Leopard 2 in the near future. In direct talks with the company, Ukraine had agreed to take over the main battle tanks in order to defend itself against the Russian attack.
The federal government apparently wants to allow “cheetah” exports
While the decision on the Leopard tanks is still pending, according to information from the German Press Agency, the federal government has made a different decision in principle. The armaments manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) should therefore be given the green light to be able to sell technically refurbished “Gepard” anti-aircraft tanks from previous Bundeswehr stocks.
KMW has a mid-double-digit number of these tanks from the disbanded army anti-aircraft defense of the Bundeswehr. The “cheetah” can also be used in combat against ground targets. Combating flying targets in conjunction with other forces, on the other hand, is considered to be technically much more demanding.
A speech by Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) at the US air base in Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate was awaited with interest on Tuesday. At the invitation of the USA, representatives of numerous countries wanted to discuss the Ukraine war there. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin invited representatives from around 40 countries to the conference at the largest US airbase outside the United States.
The traffic light groups want to provide Ukraine with heavy weapons, primarily through a so-called ring swap with Eastern European countries. This emerges from a Bundestag motion by the SPD, Greens and FDP, which the Reuters news agency was able to see on Tuesday. According to the ten-page draft, the delivery of necessary equipment to Ukraine should be continued and “where possible” accelerated, including in the case of heavy weapons and complex systems. Germany’s ability to defend the alliance should not be jeopardized.
Traffic light urges adoption of Bundeswehr special funds
The government should examine “whether further weapons can be handed over and actively approach other countries to offer them a ring exchange”. The traffic light factions support the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Germany or on NATO territory. In addition, equipment gaps in the Bundeswehr must be closed as quickly as possible. That is why the adoption of the Bundeswehr special fund with 100 billion euros is so important.
The traffic light factions place these demands in a broader context and also insist that the government must step up efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group had previously submitted a motion for a resolution on the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. It also calls for the surrender of heavy weapons from “available stocks” of the Bundeswehr. The Bundestag is scheduled to vote on the motions this week.
With agency material
More: The tank swap – how the federal government now wants to solve the weapons fiasco