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Germany’s Scholz says ‘consensus’ with Zelensky that Western arms do not hit Russia

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky agrees that weapons supplied by the West will not be used to attack Russian territory, Germany's leader said in an interview Sunday.

Published: 5 February 2023 11:22 CET

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks next to a Leopard 2 battle tank of the German armed forces as he visited troops during a training exercise in northern Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks next to a Leopard 2 battle tank of the German armed forces as he visited troops during a training exercise in northern Germany in October 2022. Photo: Ronny Hartmann / AFP

“There is a consensus on this point,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with the weekly Bild am Sonntag.

Ukraine’s Western allies have pledged to arm it with precision rockets and missile systems, as well as tanks, as it tries to push back Russian troops in its east.

READ ALSO: Germany authorises manufacturers to send Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has compared the intervention of countries such as Germany with his nation’s struggle during World War II.

“Again and again we are forced to repel the aggression of the collective West,” he said Thursday on the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad.

But Scholz rejected the comparison.

“His words are part of a series of absurd historical comparisons that he uses to justify his attack on Ukraine”, he said.

“But nothing justifies this war.

“Together with our allies, we are supplying battle tanks to Ukraine so that it can defend itself. We have carefully weighed each delivery of weapons, in close coordination with our allies, starting with America.”

He said that such a consensus-based approach “avoids an escalation”.

READ ALSO: Germany won’t send fighter jets to Ukraine, says Scholz

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Germany commits to billions in military aid for Ukraine

Berlin has shifted away from a traditionally pacifist stance since Moscow sent its forces into Ukraine last year, becoming one of Kyiv’s biggest military backers.

Parliament’s budget committee gave the green light for about eight billion euros ($8.7 billion) to be spent on directly purchasing weapons and equipment for Ukraine.

Around 12 billion euros in total will be released related to the Ukraine conflict over the next decade or so.

The other four billion will go to the German military to replenish stocks.

The Bundeswehr was already underfunded before the Ukraine war, and the situation has worsened as Berlin rushes cutting-edge gear to Kyiv.

The news represents a “very important step with which we make it clear that we are supporting Ukraine in the long term in its fight against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.

The agreement will allow supplies including armoured vehicles, tanks, and ammunition to be delivered to Ukraine in the coming years, according to a statement from the minister.

The German army will also be able to buy new equipment.

Critics say the Bundeswehr has suffered from years of neglect and underinvestment, a product of the country’s deep-rooted post-war guilt.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a major funding boost for the military.

READ ALSO: German military has ‘too little of everything’

But progress has been slow — none of a special €100 billion fund earmarked for the overhaul has yet been spent, it emerged earlier this month.

A senior lawmaker tasked with scrutinising the armed forces meanwhile said they were lacking in everything, with soldiers living in “pitiful” barracks.

This week, Scholz confirmed that promised Leopard battle tanks had been delivered to Kyiv.

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