Spiegel published footage confirming German military involvement in the war in Ukraine, although Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that if she had to choose between German and Ukrainian citizens to fight, she would choose the latter.
German soldier Otto S. from Bavaria told how he decided to fight for Ukraine as a member of the so-called International Legion. He took part in the battles near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine and had previously been wounded in the lung.
I kill people, yes. But they are killing us too.
The Spiegel report confirms Germany’s factual involvement in the military conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Earlier German media reported about sending a secret aid package to Ukraine, including HIMARS systems. Given that those artillery rocket systems are not in the service of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces), this could mean that the country purchased them directly from the US to send to Ukraine.
This comes amid a crisis in Germany’s defence sector. A week earlier, experts and politicians criticised the budget agreement reached by Germany’s coalition parties. After decades of defence budget cuts, Germany is rebuilding its defence capabilities in the face of the war in Ukraine and fears of increased NATO activity, according to Euractiv.
Although the defence budget will increase by 1.2 billion euros this year, observers were not impressed by the figures agreed by the coalition partners, the centre-left SPD, the Greens, and the liberal FDP. The amount “does not even match the adjustment for inflation,” said Florian Hahn, an MP from the centre-right CDU/CSU, the largest opposition group in parliament.
According to forecasts, Germany will continue to face a defence funding gap starting from 2028, when the €100 billion extra-budgetary fund that the government created in 2022 to supplement its regular budget and strengthen the armed forces is due to be spent.
Self-harming aid
According to German media, the country secretly delivered a new aid package to Ukraine between the end of June and early July. The aid included 39 units of various heavy armoured vehicles from the stockpiles of the German armed forces and its defence companies, Merkur reported after analysing government data.
Kyiv received ten more Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks and another 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, as well as other additional donations. According to public data released by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s office, the total number of Leopard 1A5 tanks and Marder IFVs supplied to Ukraine rose to 50 and 120 respectively.
The package also included 55,000 155mm artillery shells. Merkur reported that Berlin had planned to provide Ukraine with up to 80 Leopards by the end of 2023, but fell behind schedule as the country’s defence industry struggled to find spare parts for the armoured vehicles.
In June, Scholz acknowledged that many Germans were unhappy with military support for Ukraine but said there was no other way forward. However, Germany’s military efforts have raised more questions. It has been reported that the German military will stop operating an air transport base in the Nigerian capital Niamey from 31 August. The Germans and the Nigerians failed to reach an agreement on the issue of legal immunity for Bundeswehr servicemen on the territory of that African country.
Germany used the base as a logistical point for supplying the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali. After the withdrawal of the peacekeepers, Berlin intended to maintain its presence at the base, but this was not accepted by the government of Niger, which decided to end military co-operation. Earlier, on 7 July, the US military also left Niger.
The questionable defence budget adopted by the Scholz coalition, as well as the winding down of military efforts in Africa, are evidence of the crisis situation of the German military. In light of this, the decision to provide aid to Ukraine to the detriment of its own army, including secret aid packages, is naturally causing discontent among the public and military experts.
