Germany halts supply of heavy combat vehicles to Ukraine

Germany has decided to cease the provision of Ukraine with heavy combat vehicles, including Leopard 2 tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

This decision is based on an internal document from the German Ministry of Defense, Caliber.Az reports, citing German media.

The transfer of these heavy combat assets, which also encompassed Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) howitzers, has now been completed.

The German Ministry of Defense is said to have concluded that Ukraine will struggle to mount a successful counteroffensive in the near term, despite ongoing efforts from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to advance against Russian forces.

After the shipment of 18 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, there will be no further deliveries, although the Bundeswehr (German Army) has about 300 such tanks in stock. This also applies to infantry fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, self-propelled howitzers and other similar equipment.

The German Defense Ministry does not believe that the Ukrainian army will be able to launch a new offensive in the near future. In addition, Berlin refused to approve the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv.

This shift in Germany’s military policy comes at a critical juncture, as Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which began in the summer of 2023, has faced significant setbacks, with progress lagging behind initial expectations. In a candid acknowledgment of these difficulties, Zelenskyy himself admitted in autumn 2023 that the counteroffensive had not yielded the anticipated results, a sentiment echoed by Russian officials who have characterized it as a failure.

Germany’s new aid packages for Ukraine primarily consist of previously promised deliveries rather than new commitments of military hardware. This revelation could temper expectations in Kyiv, where Ukrainian officials have consistently sought enhanced military assistance from Western allies to sustain their battlefield momentum.

In a recent meeting, Zelenskyy urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to permit strikes against Russian positions using Western-supplied weapons and sought guarantees for expedited NATO membership. However, it appears that Scholz did not provide a definitive answer to these requests, leaving questions about Germany's future military support for Ukraine unanswered.

By Khagan Isayev