Germany delivers first heavy weapons to Ukraine, five months into war

Germany has “finally” delivered its first shipment of heavy weapons to Ukraine nearly five months into the war with Russia, Kyiv said on Tuesday.

Germany said in May it would send seven self-propelled howitzers after Ukraine called for more advanced weapons from the West to help stave off Moscow’s advances in the Donbas.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, last week said weapons shipments from Berlin were “less than they could be” after a string of delays to German arms deliveries.

“Panzerhaubitze 2000 are finally part of the 155 mm howitzer arsenal of the Ukrainian artillery,” Oleksiy Reznikov, the Ukrainian Defence Minister, said.

“The German Panzerhaubitze 2000 with trained Ukrainian crews joined the Ukrainian artillery family,” he added and thanked Christine Lambrecht, his German counterpart.

Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor, said on Tuesday:“One thing is clear, we will continue to send weapons to Ukraine for as long as it needs our support,”

Berlin insisted the Panzerhaubitze 2000s had only been delayed because Ukrainian troops were completing training on how to use them.

The German army has about 100 howitzer 2000s in its stocks, but only 40 are combat-ready.

Ukraine needs more heavy duty artillery as the country runs out of ammunition for its existing Soviet-era arsenal, which is dwarfed by Russia’s.

Kyiv has said it needs 1,000 howitzers, 500 tanks and 1,000 drones among other heavy weapons to repel Russian troops, which have occupied about 20 per cent of its territory.

The Panzerhaubitze 2000 is one of the most powerful artillery weapons in the German army. It can hit targets at a distance of 25 miles. The Netherlands has promised five of the advanced systems.

Other countries that have supplied Ukraine with self-propelled and towed howitzers include the United States, Britain, France, Norway and Poland.

The German Chancellor has been forced to deny he is guilty of only half-hearted support for Ukraine in recent months.

Friedrich Merz, the opposition Christian Democratic Union leader who visited Mr Zelensky before Mr Scholz, has called the Chancellor a “miserable” friend to Ukraine and accused him of having a “hidden agenda.”

Mr Scholz claimed in June that Germany was supplying weapons “more intensively than almost anyone else”, despite evidence to the contrary.

Last week he visited Kyiv with the leaders of France and Germany to show Mr Zelensky support and back Ukraine’s bid to join the EU.

Germany publishes unusual list of military support

Berlin on Tuesday took the unusual step of publishing a list of all the military support it has sent to Ukraine to counter accusations it was not doing enough.

The UK and other Western European governments do not make their supplies public, although the US does.

“The federal government has now decided to adapt the procedure for publishing military support to the practice of our closest allies, such as the USA,” said Steffen Hebestreit, a government spokesman.

According to the list, Germany has already delivered 14,900 anti-tank mines, 500 STINGER anti-aircraft missiles, 2,700 STRELA rocket launchers, 16 million rounds of handgun ammunition, 50 bunker launchers, 100 MG 3 machines with 500 spare barrels and bolts, 5,300 explosive charges, as well as 100,000 hand grenades.

Germany also lists non-lethal material, including 23,000 combat helmets, 100 tents, night vision goggles, telecommunications equipment, food rations as well as 1,200 hospital beds.

But notable by their absence on the list are heavy weapons such as howitzers and tanks, which Berlin was seen as reluctant to supply until now.

Germany has promised to send 30 anti-aircraft tanks, 3 MARS multiple rocket launchers and 54 armoured personnel carriers in the future.

Earlier efforts to deliver Leopard anti-aircraft tanks were stymied after Switzerland refused to supply ammunition for the tanks because of its neutrality policy.