The Union faction criticizes the federal government for delays in the delivery of Cheetah anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine. He wonders “whether that was just a bluff,” said the defense policy spokesman for the Union faction, Florian Hahn (CSU), of “Bild”: “Bad for Ukraine, because it urgently needs supplies.”

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, told the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND): “We have the impression that the chancellor does not want to deliver.” The Bundestag decision to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine is now three weeks ago.

“You can get the impression that you’re waiting for a ceasefire,” said Melnyk. “Then the pressure from Germany will be gone and there will no longer be any need for courageous decisions.”

According to reports, the delivery of the Gepard tanks fails due to a lack of suitable ammunition. “Either the Ministry of Defense immediately procures the necessary quantities of ammunition and quickly delivers these urgently needed 30 anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine, or one should openly admit that this story was just a non-starter and has to be shelved for the time being,” said Melnyk to the “Bild “.

According to “Bild”, the Ministry of Defense denied responsibility. The Bundeswehr is “not involved in the process”. It is an “offer that Ukraine’s industry has submitted”. According to the newspaper, the armaments company KMW has only procured 59,000 shots so far – not enough given the high firing rate of the anti-aircraft guns. The federal government is now looking for ammunition in Switzerland, Brazil and Spain.