Germany has agreed to send tanks to Ukraine in a reversal of the previous statement made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Germany’s stock of tanks was depleted.
Al Jazeera reported that an announcement from Scholz on April 26 stated Germany would deliver Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine. Previously, Germany resisted sending heavy weapons to support Ukraine during Russia’s invasion.
According to Al Jazeera, the initial hesitation was due to fears that Germany’s involvement could lead to World War III.
Germany announced the move to send the tanks at a meeting of defense officials from NATO and non-NATO countries.
The U.S.’s joint chiefs of staff, General Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, said they welcomed Germany’s contribution.
“I think those systems will provide real capability for Ukraine,” Defense Secretary Austin said.
Germany has come under some criticism for its hesitancy to support Ukraine with weapons. Avoidance of military conflict has been central to Germany’s political philosophy since World War ll.
The Germans have become pacifists, reports the BBC, preferring negotiation for conflict resolution over military intervention. Its military operations have been primarily peace-keeping missions.
Ironically, Germany has also become one of the world’s largest arms exporters. A Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report shows that Germany was one of the world’s five largest arms exporters in 2020, along with the United States, Russia, China, and France.
German arms exports were 21% higher from 2016 to 2020 than from 2011 to 2015, accounting for 5.5% of the global total.
However, Deutsche Welle reports there have been cases where Germany did ship arms to conflict regions.
Christian Molling, a German defense and security expert, said, “We have certainly delivered in the past, but always on a situation-by-situation basis. … there is the principle of a case-by-case examination”.
The situation in Ukraine has been deemed dire enough for Germany to ship arms to a region at war.