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The German government decided yesterday that Germany will allow the delivery of Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine. According to the text of the speech, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht made this announcement today at the Ukraine Defense Consultative Workshop in Ramstein.

According to information available to the editorial team, it is about the delivery of a medium double-digit number of the Gepard anti-aircraft tank by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). The company had taken over the weapon systems from the Bundeswehr's disbanded air defense system and placed them in the depot. The company had already made a similar offer several months ago.

The minister pointed out that, as a first step, the federal government delivered weapons and equipment to Ukraine from Bundeswehr stocks, such as rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft missiles.

However, since the Bundeswehr's options are limited, it is now supported if the industry supplies directly to Ukraine, according to the text of the speech. “Ukraine ordered and Germany paid. This is what happened, for example, with drones and anti-tank mines.” Like Chancellor Olaf Scholz before him, Lambrecht announced that the funding for the upgrade initiative would be increased to two billion euros.

According to the minister, Germany will cooperate with the USA in training Ukrainian troops on artillery systems on German soil and, together with the Netherlands, will provide training on self-propelled howitzers and ammunition for Ukraine. Last week it became known that the Netherlands would deliver 2,000 self-propelled howitzers to the Ukrainian armed forces and support Germany in training them. The delivery of ammunition has not yet been communicated.

To ensure that Ukraine can quickly obtain heavy weapons that do not require long training, the federal government has initiated a ring exchange with partners in Eastern Europe, said Lambrecht. “They give Soviet-made equipment to Ukraine and we fill in those gaps. There’s more we can do here, we’re ready to do it.”

Editorial / lah

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