“Those who are in a comparable starting position as Germany are acting like us,” announced German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday. By that he meant his country’s defensive stance, which is reluctant to supply Ukraine with desperately requested heavy weapons. Or did Scholz mean the disastrous state of equipment in his army?
Because the other nations are now apparently getting down to business quickly: while Great Britain is still examining the delivery of T-72 tanks, French President Emmanuel Macron has already promised the delivery of Caesar guns to the Ukrainian armed forces. 40 gunners are already being trained in France to operate them. At the same time, in an interview with the Funke Mediengruppe on Friday, he said: “We have the same strategy as Chancellor Scholz: we are helping the Ukrainians as much as possible. But are careful never to become a party to the war.” Respect Germany’s decision. He will “do everything to prevent a conflagration. The war must stop.”
At the same time, Macron is still hoping for a new dialogue: “It’s hard when you experience the facts being denied for hours. When you talk for hours with President Zelenskyy or with people who have experienced the horror of war with all the destruction. And then someone sits across from you who denies everything, laughs about it and talks about staging.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said on Friday that he would consider supplying T-72 tanks to Poland, which would then supply them to Ukraine. Prior to that, his government had supplied thousands of NLAW and Javelin anti-tank weapons, as well as Starstreak surface-to-air missiles and guided missiles. According to Johnson, artillery ammunition was also transported. So far, the value of British military aid is around €536 million, and around €476 million for economic and humanitarian aid. In addition, the British Embassy is to reopen in Kyiv.
