The deciders in Berlin, above all Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht, must reverse course and deliver more heavy weapons and battle tanks or suffer the political consequences.

When, on 24th February, Russian tanks and soldiers crossed the border to Ukraine and began advancing towards the country's major cities, the international community was reminded of a war that has been going on at least since 2014. Since 2014, Russia has been occupying and controlling Crimea and the so-called “independent people’s republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk. While the 2014 offensive targeted areas which were comparably easy to conquer, the invasion of 2022 targeted population centres, the hearts of Ukrainian industry and culture.

Thank God for Ukraine's Defenders

Only through the heroic resistance of the Ukrainians and cases of sheer incompetence, the Russians had to withdraw from towns around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. They left behind massacred civilians in the streets, mass graves and a majority of homes inhabitable. Yrpin and Butscha, Kyiv’s suburbs in which this took place, cannot be distinguished from the suburbs of Berlin or Washington DC. These towns are home to people with our Western daily life and lifestyle.

Those events showed the brutality of the Russian war and led to the West intensifying its efforts to support Ukraine through weapon deliveries and sanctions. Atrocities against civilians also show the need to beat Russia on the battlefield and the naivete of those who seek negotiations at this stage of the war. The US has been on the forefront of the support and has delivered more heavy weapon systems than any other country. While the United States’ support has been greatly appreciated by the Ukrainians, Germany has been embarrassing themselves with their inaction. Slow deliveries of military goods and outright refusal to deal with the Ukrainians’ requests are costing Ukrainian lives on the battlefield every day.

Who is to blame

Apart from chancellor Olaf Scholz, no other politician is as widely associated with Germany’s failure to adequately help Ukraine as Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht. Prior to assuming the position of Minister of Defence, Lambrecht never held any position connected with the armed forces or had any expertise in the area of defence. Her lack of experience even led to chancellor Scholz revoking her competence to spend 100bn Euros of special budget aimed at the modernization of the Bundeswehr. 

While incompetence is unfortunate and annoying to the public in times of peace, it is disasterous in times of war. Lambrecht has repeatedly needlessly slowed down the process of delivering military equipment to Ukraine. Her favourite excuse has been the fear of Germany assuming a leadership position and delivering weapon systems, which have not been delivered by other countries. Her refusal to deliver main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles has drawn criticism from members of the FDP and the Greens, parties in the same government coalition as Lambrecht’s SPD. The SPD remains the only coalition party reluctant to deliver main battle tanks. While some SPD politicians, like Gerhard Schröder, have openly friendly relationships towards Russia, the motivations of most other SPD politicians remain unclear. 

There's no Time to lose

Lambrecht’s explanation that no other country has delivered “Western-type main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles” reveals her cowardice when dealing with weapon deliveries. There have been infantry fighting vehicles delivered by Canada and Denmark. While the sentence is technically correct for the battle tanks, it deliberately fails to mention that battle tanks have been delivered by Poland and the Czech Republic, just not “Western-type”. German industry has indicated that it is ready to deliver and is only waiting for a government permit to allow the export to Ukraine. The German government and most of all Lambrecht are taking their time. Time that Ukrainian soldiers in their trenches do not have.

Christine Lambrecht has become the poster child for Germany’s failed support for Ukraine. Causing conflicts within the governing coalition and wasting valuable time in which Ukrainians could greatly benefit from German weapons, she has become a liability for German foreign policy and the stability of the coalition at home. Since the beginning of the war, Ukrainians have come to not expect much from the Germans. Lambrecht must reverse her course and finally lead the way in delivering battle tanks to Ukraine. Or otherwise make room for a new Minister of Defence, who has Ukraine’s interest at heart.

This article appeared on "Young Voices Europe" first, https://yveu.org/blog/f/germanys-failure-to-properly-help-ukraine-is-embarrassing?blogcategory=Felix+H