Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has personally blocked the supply of defense weapons to Ukraine through NATO. Ambassador Andriy Melnyk called on the country’s new government to rethink this approach. Relevant information was published by the German newspaper Bild .
Ukraine , Ukraingate , 14 , December , 2021 | International News
According to the newspaper, citing its sources, since May of this year, Germany has been preventing other NATO members from selling weapons to Ukraine. Thus, under Merkel’s leadership, Berlin blocked the sale of 90 large-caliber Barrett M82 sniper rifles from the United States and 20 EDM4S-UA anti-drone systems from Lithuania.
At the same time, in early 2021, Ukraine paid for both weapons systems through the NATO Support and Supply Agency (NSPA). But in May, Germany and the Netherlands opposed the sale and blocked it. It is reported that the Netherlands supported Germany at the request of Berlin, as the government did not want to be the only country that opposed the sale.
Bild reports that any decision to provide Ukraine with lethal support through the NSPA depends on the consensus of allies in individual cases.
Back in August 2021, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky asked Merkel to end the blockade on arms supplies, but the Chancellor noted that this was out of the question.
A few days before the end of her tenure as German chancellor, Merkel began to partially abandon the veto due to the aggravation of the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
It is reported that in December this year Kyiv will receive the first batch of EDM4S-RU anti-drone weapons.
Let’s add
Ukraine’s new defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, has said that Germany has blocked arms supplies to Kyiv through NATO and said Ukraine would seek to buy weapons through bilateral agreements with allies, including the United States, Britain, Lithuania and France.
Reznikov told the Financial Times that “Berlin vetoed last month the purchase of anti-tank rifles and anti-sniper systems by Ukraine through the NATO Supply and Procurement Agency.” However, as noted, Germany has since softened its position on the first point, considering these weapons non-lethal.
Source: Ukrgate
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