Germany Halts Ukraine Weapons Transfer

 

"Germany is blocking North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally Estonia from giving military support to Ukraine by refusing to issue permits for German-origin weapons to be exported to Kyiv as it braces for a potential Russian invasion.

Unlike the U.S., Britain, Poland and other allies, the German government has declined to export lethal weapons directly to Ukraine. Berlin also is refusing to allow a third country to send artillery to Ukraine because the weaponry originated in Germany, said Estonian and German officials.

The issue is being seen by Western security specialists and Ukraine as a test of Berlin's arms-transfer policy during a mounting crisis in Europe, and points to the difficulties the U.S. and its European allies are facing in forging a common response to Russia's demands and military buildup near Ukraine.

German officials said the impasse results from a longstanding policy regarding arms exports to tense regions. An Estonian government official said leaders are trying to persuade Berlin to change its mind.

Ukrainian officials said arms are desperately needed, and that allowing Estonia to send the artillery could be precedent for providing additional German-origin systems from other countries. While the Estonian weapons wouldn't change the dynamics on the battlefield, Germany's refusal could be read by Moscow as another sign of division in the West's ranks.

Broader strains within the Western alliance have emerged in recent weeks about how to assist Ukraine and what to include in the economic penalties U.S. and European officials have said would be imposed if Russia attacks Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed that the European Union formulate a separate policy toward Russia to be coordinated with NATO.

The U.S. has been seeking a German commitment not to permit Nord Stream 2, a Russian-built natural-gas pipeline, to operate in the event of Russian aggression. Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said there would be a "high cost" for Moscow military aggression, but hasn't committed to halting the pipeline.

At issue with Estonia are exports of the D-30, a howitzer that fires a 122mm shell about 20 kilometers. The howitzers, originally made in the Soviet Union, were stationed in former East Germany. After German reunification, Berlin exported the guns to Finland in the 1990s, which passed them on to Estonia in 2009, said Estonian, Finnish and German officials.

"This is an early test for the new chancellor to show that his coalition can respond to an international crisis," said Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, a Washington policy research center. "If he can't make this kind of modest change in the law, it calls into question his foreign-policy leadership skills."

Germany is one of the world's largest arms exporters, and ships weapons to non-allied countries. German officials have said, however, that exporting arms to Ukraine is out of question because of the tensions and because of Germany's role in starting World War II and the Nazi atrocities committed in the region.

"Our restrictive position is well-known and is rooted in history," said Annalena Baerbock, Germany's foreign minister.

Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, said: "This responsibility should apply to the Ukrainian people, who lost at least eight million lives during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine."" [1]

 

1. World News: Germany Halts Ukraine Weapons Transfer
Gordon, Michael R. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 22 Jan 2022: A.7.