Germany also wants to deliver 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. They come from the stocks of the National People’s Army (NVA) of the GDR.
The big question: Are they still good at all?
A hundred times not! As the “Spiegel” found out, 700 missiles in the delivery are no longer operational. Means: The supply of weapons has shrunk by almost a third.
What an embarrassment for the federal government!
The rockets are also at least 35 years old and were blocked from use in 2012. Reason: “Microcracks in the ammunition’s propellant charge, which led to corrosion/oxidation.”
▶︎ Particularly embarrassing: According to “Spiegel”, the wooden boxes in which the rockets are stored were so moldy in November that Bundeswehr soldiers were only allowed to enter the storage facilities with protective equipment.
Before the “Strela” rockets are handed over to Ukraine, experts from the Federal Office for Equipment should check the material. The Federal Security Council still has to approve the delivery.
On Saturday, the federal government decided to deliver 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 “Stinger” surface-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine as quickly as possible.
The weapons (“Stinger” and rocket-propelled grenades) arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday. In addition, the NATO partners Netherlands and Estonia have been approved to supply Ukraine with weapons that come from German production or East German stocks.
