German Bundestag Votes to Support Ukraine with Arms

According to Reuters, the German Bundestag lower house of parliament met Thursday and voted to send heavy arms and aid to Ukraine.

Last week, Anna Baerbock made a statement concerning Germany’s inability to send heavy arms to Ukraine. She stated that the reason was due in part to Ukrainian soldiers having inadequate training with high-tech tanks and also in part to having insufficient supplies. Alongside her sentiments, Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced his concern that arming Ukraine may aggravate and inflame relations with Russia and become a catalyst for WW3.

The petition to support Ukraine stated, “Alongside the broad economic isolation and decoupling of Russia from international markets, the most important and effective means to stop the Russian invasion is to intensify and speed up the delivery of effective weapons and complex systems including heavy arms.” The Bundestag approved the petition with a vote of 586 in favor of arming Ukraine and 100 against, with seven abstaining.

Kyiv has been communicating with Germany on needed infantry items. Ukrainian officials sent Germany a “support options industry” list comprising forty-eight pages. The list detailed a request for fifteen specific weapons Kyiv required to fend off Russian attacks. Germany sent back a twenty-four-page reply and granted three of the fifteen items from the original pages.

NATO allies applied pressure on Germany and urged officials to reconsider arming Ukraine with more complex weapons. The agreement Thursday by the Bundestag ensures support for Ukraine, but not all parties agreed with the decision.  

The majority of those who voted against the petition came from a right-wing German political party, according to ZeroHedge. Their decision was anchored in the idea that Germany arming Ukraine with heavy and more complex arms could ignite an intense conflict between the West and Russia.

Scholz stated Friday that he is doing all he can to avoid escalating the war to stave off the devastating potential of it becoming a nuclear war and the beginning of WW3. 

Tuesday, the German Ministry of Defense signaled that Scholz’s desire to remain aloof was no longer an option, as delivery of Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine was approved. In addition to anti-aircraft systems and armored vehicles being sent to Ukraine, the petition included heavier arms being sent to neighboring NATO allies. Along with weaponry, German soldiers will amp up their presence throughout Eastern Europe and will act as peacekeepers to Russian soldiers. The measure will also call for China to actively support a truce between Russia and Ukraine.