In April, Slovenia, among others, received Leopard 2 tanks from Germany in exchange for supplying their weapons to Ukraine.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that further arms deliveries to Ukraine as part of the so-called ring exchange are imminent. The federal government has “now specified these agreements with several countries to such an extent that they will be directly linked to extradition,” said the SPD politician in the Bundestag on Wednesday. He did not give details.
Ring exchange means that Eastern European allies deliver weapons of Soviet design to the Ukraine and receive weapons from Germany in return. Soviet-made weapons are easier for Ukrainian soldiers to use than Western-made equipment, which is new to them.
The Federal Government has held talks with countries such as the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland and Slovenia on the exchange of rings. “We have invested a lot of energy in making sure that happens,” said Scholz in the Bundestag. Implementation will follow in the next few weeks.
Scholz did not comment on the Union’s demand to deliver transport and infantry fighting vehicles directly from Germany to Ukraine. He reiterated that Germany will only deliver what Ukraine’s allies are providing. “It’s a management decision that we made together that we don’t go it alone,” he emphasized.
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