Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski praised Germany’s progress in supporting Ukraine during his trip to Berlin on Tuesday.
In 2011, also in Berlin, Sikorski stated that he was more concerned about German inaction than the possible abuse of German power. However, he noted that those words remain true today:
All of us in the West not only disarmed after 1989 but also de-industrialised in terms of defence.
Sikorski called for even greater efforts not only to restore Europe’s defence capabilities but also to help Ukraine, which is “under pressure” after the war with Russia broke out in February 2022.
The Polish minister highlighted the German government’s progress in providing aid to Ukraine, even though it has previously been criticised for its reluctance to supply weapons, including Leopard tanks, to Kyiv. Germany still ranks second in providing the most military aid to Ukraine on a strictly bilateral level, according to the latest available data (October) from the Kiel Institute.
Today, Germany is supplying or providing a lot of aid to Ukraine, which we highly praise.
With his comments, Sikorski reversed Poland’s stance on Germany, which in recent weeks has openly pushed other European partners to increase military aid to Ukraine. Last year, many in Poland were surprised when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Berlin for its arms shipments while at the same time accusing Poland of backing Russia by blocking Ukrainian food imports. Even though Warsaw has welcomed many refugees and was Ukraine’s leading ally in the first months after the war began.
In early January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that “the arms deliveries to Ukraine planned so far by the majority of EU member states are too small anyway” and urged allies to “step up their efforts.” However, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner took a more aggressive stance at his party’s (FDP, Renew) European conference on Sunday.
What must not and will not happen is that Germany (…) does even more so that others can continue to do too little.
