Next Friday, the defense ministers of Ukraine’s western allies will meet at the US Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate to discuss further military support for the fight against the Russian attackers. Great Britain was the first country to announceto provide the Ukrainian armed forces with Western-style main battle tanks – namely 14 copies of the home-made Challenger 2. Poland and Finland are ready to deliver German-made Leopard 2 tanks to the European network. The federal government has not yet taken a position on this.
Oleksii Makeiev said, without the Leopard tanks, further reconquest of the areas occupied by Russia would not be possible. He made it clear that any further delay would cost lives. “German weapons save lives,” he said. “German anti-aircraft systems will help us intercept the missiles, and German tanks will help us liberate territories. And the atrocities committed there by Russian occupying forces are decreasing.”
The Ambassador reiterated that Ukraine is fighting this war on behalf of all its allies. “There’s a term for it in German: proxy war,” he said. “No one else fights against Russia. But the Ukrainians do it. Russia is at war not only against Ukraine, but against Europe and the whole civilized, democratic world. And in this war, the Ukrainians are at the front.”
According to Makeiev, Ukraine also wants that Delivery of fighter planes. “Fighter jets are under discussion because they also help maintain air sovereignty,” he said. They are “up, but not very high” on the priority list. “One should not focus too much on priorities when it comes to arms shipments. Each weapon serves a specific part of our armed forces.”