After much deliberation, the chancellor is finally sending more German tanks to Ukraine. Many Ukrainians paid for the waiting time with their lives.
How times are changing: Shortly before Russia invaded, the former German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht promised the Ukraine just 5,000 protective helmets from Bundeswehr stocks and was met with derision and malice.
A year later, her successor Boris Pistorius travels to Kyiv on a secret mission and announces the delivery of up to 178 Leopard 1 tanks. As a thank you, his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Resnikov calls him a “friend of Ukraine”. With him as minister, “the armored coalition was born.” This includes the 14 Leopard 2 tanks that the German government promised the country the week before last.
The chancellor makes the difference
As different as the performance of the two German defense ministers is, the decisive steps for the arms deliveries are taken in the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, and above all in the White House in Washington.
The Ukrainian thanks go above all to Olaf Scholz. After a long struggle with US President Joe Biden and a great deal of consideration for the mood in Germany, he gave his approval for the delivery of German tanks. So far, however, it has always seemed as if Scholz was more driven – by the international allies and the public debates in this country.
With the additional Leopard 1 deliveries, the Chancellor is finally moving forward. Even if it is not yet clear when and how many of the battle tanks will come – the European partners are currently still acting very hesitantly – the signal is clear.
humility instead of thanks
There were many reasons for Germany’s reluctance to date: the ailing state of the German armed forces, the unclear stocks, their own fateful history, legitimate concerns about Putin’s retaliation. Despite these concerns, however, tanks are now suddenly possible, even more than previously thought.
The German federal government in particular and we as citizens should therefore exercise great humility. Every day of careful German consideration in the Chancellery, some called it hesitation, Ukrainians paid with their lives. Of course, an issue as important as tank deliveries is not a hasty decision. But it’s about speed, transparent communication and also about empathy for the oppressed Ukrainians.
After all, it is important to remember that Germany in particular, with its less than glorious history, ignored warnings about Putin and his aggressive expansionist policy for years. That Germany has sent countless billions to Russia for oil and natural gas in order to generate that comfortable prosperity that many are now worried about.
We share responsibility
It is a nice gesture that Ukrainian government officials are now thanking their German partners. In return, we should also thank those Ukrainian families whose relatives fight every day on the front against Putin’s army – and of whom so many have already died. For an idea that we have only had to defend with goods and money, but not with our lives: freedom. Because this is the idea that Putin and his soldiers attack every day in Ukraine.