‘The next few days are crucial for Ukraine’

At the Rammstein Conference, participants noted Ukraine’s defense needs. Berlin turn. Ships heavy weapons from Krauss Maffei Wegmann stocks.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin described the defense conference for Ukraine, which took place at the US air base in Ramstein, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, as “important and very constructive”. It is a US initiative, involving defense ministers from the EU, NATO and a total of 40 other Western countries, with the aim of providing the maximum possible military support to Kyiv in a critical phase of the aggressive Russian war, such as this one. upright. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos also participated in the conference.

“The West is more determined than ever”

In a statement after the meeting, Lloyd Austin stressed that it was clear from the Conference that the coming days and weeks were crucial for Ukraine. “We have reached a new stage on the battlefield and we must react. The West is more determined than ever.” The US Secretary of Defense criticized today ‘s warnings of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the danger of a Third World War and the possible use of nuclear weapons. “Any discussion about the possible use of nuclear weapons is very dangerous and useless,” he said, adding that “no one wants a nuclear war, no one can win it.” helps anyone “play with swords” and speculate on the use of nuclear weapons “. The US Secretary of State stressed that the US is doing everything in its power to prevent the war from escaping from the borders of Ukraine. “The world stands united against the Moscow government, Ukraine is convinced it will win this war, and so are we all here.”

Lloyd Austin announced that from now on the conference will be held on a monthly basis, in the form of a contact group, without specifying at what level, in order to monitor the defense needs of Ukraine after the end of the war, so that it can guarantee security and its territorial integrity. At the conference, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced that Germany intends to facilitate the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine, news that had been leaked to German newspapers since this morning, and which marks a turning point in the Berlin stance so far. After the completion of the works, Germany will give the green light for the delivery of 50 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks from the reserves of the German armament giant Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). The announcement earned the praise of the US Secretary of Defense. “Germany is a great friend and partner of the United States, the delivery of 50 tanks is an important step that brings Ukraine additional (defense) capabilities.”

The German message

Commenting on the development, Marcel Dirsus, of the Kiel Institute for Political Security, told Reuters: the decision”. According to Welt, the delivery of the Gepard anti-aircraft tank system has been discussed for a long time. The war industry Krauss Maffei Wegmann had already announced last February that it had about 50 tanks from its own stock that could be delivered to Ukraine after a relatively quick repair. A similar proposal was submitted to the German government, as reported by the company. Chief Ralph Ketzel said the weapons systems could be put back into operation in the short term. If the surrender is finally made, this will not be the first time the German government has approved the shipment of these tanks.

Already in 2020, Berlin approved the delivery of 15 Gepard models to Qatar to protect the World Cup at the end of 2022 from terrorist attacks with drones. Although this model has long been withdrawn from the German armed forces, with its new radar system it is considered a very effective weapon and with a very high degree of accuracy of its guns. In any case, this is a model from the time when the Cold War was at its peak.

Irini Anastassopoulou

Source: Deutsche Welle