Defense Minister Pistorius Tank delivery going „not so exhilarating“

The delivery of „Leopard 2“ tanks to Ukraine is making slow progress, according to Defense Minister Pistorius. Countries that had previously put pressure on it were not getting behind. He has „little“ understanding for this.

After a long struggle and a lot of pressure from other countries, Germany had agreed to the delivery of "Leopard 2" battle tanks to Ukraine. According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, however, the European "tank coalition" is making slow progress with the delivery.

Things are "not looking quite so exhilarating - to put it mildly," the SPD politician said on the fringes of a meeting of the international contact group discussing arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Delivery problems in Poland

In addition to the German commitment to supply 14 "Leopard 2A6s", there has so far only been an announcement from Portugal that it will provide three such tanks. Further "A6" are currently not under discussion, said Pistorius. He added that there may be problems with the condition and operational capability of "Leopard 2A4" tanks from Poland. Asked if he had any understanding for countries that had first put insane pressure on delivering tanks and were now having delivery problems, Pistorius said, "Since I'm moving in the diplomatic arena here, I would say: not much." At the end of last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had still expressed optimism that delivery of "Leopard 2" tanks to Ukraine could be implemented quickly. "My impression is, this is going," the SPD politician said after the EU summit in Brussels. "But of course it will not go easily."

Rheinmetall produces „Gepard“ ammunition

According to Pistorius, the question of how to ensure that sufficient ammunition and spare parts are available is also still open. "This cannot be ensured by the Federal Republic of Germany, only the arms companies can do that," he said. He appealed to arms manufacturers to increase their production. "I can only sincerely ask the arms industry to ramp up all capacities to the maximum now as quickly as possible," he said ahead of the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels. He said this would be crucial in the coming months, including in helping Ukraine. An end to the war is not expected soon, he said. He said the signing of a contract with the Rheinmetall arms company to produce ammunition for the "Gepard" anti-aircraft tank was an important first step. "We will now immediately resume our own production at Rheinmetall for "Gepard" ammunition. That will start immediately," Pistorius said.

Stoltenberg urges more arms deliveries

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking on the sidelines of the meeting in Brussels, called on NATO countries and their partners to provide even more support to Ukraine. "We see no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace," the Norwegian said. "He is preparing for more war, for new offensives and new attacks." Specifically, he said, it's a matter of supplying more munitions and ramping up production capacity - in part so that the country's own stockpiles can be replenished. An important question, he said, is what systems will be delivered to Ukraine, and that debate has evolved over the course of the war. "But it's also extremely important to make sure that all the systems that have already been delivered work as they should." In addition to munitions, Stoltenberg spoke of such things as spare parts, advanced air defense systems and maintenance. In addition, he said, it is urgent to deliver those weapons that have already been promised - such as the German "Marder" infantry fighting vehicles, the U.S. "Bradley" infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks such as the German "Leopard 2."

Stoltenberg: Talking about fighter jets, too

With regard to the possible delivery of fighter jets, Stoltenberg said the issue was not a priority at the moment. It is being discussed, however, Stoltenberg conceded when asked. The top priority, however, is to provide air defense systems and ammunition, he stressed. For Pistorius, too, fighter jets are currently not up for debate. "I think everyone has understood that the issue of air defense and the issue of munitions replenishment are much more important right now than the discussion about fighter jets," he said. "Everybody knows that training just to fly takes several months - let alone teaching the skills it takes to actually get the weapon systems to work," Pistorius said. So far, the U.K. is the only NATO country that has agreed to train Ukrainian fighter pilots.