Germany expects to deliver missile systems to Ukraine between July and August

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Thursday that her country hopes to deliver missile launch systems to Ukraine “at the end of July” or “beginning of August”, after training the armed forces of the former Soviet republic in the use of this weaponry since “the end of June”.

“The training for these rockets can start at the end of June, so that the delivery could be at the end of July, beginning of August”, declared the policy upon arrival at the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers that is being held. in Brussels.

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The minister spoke in this way after Germany pledged to deliver multiple launch rocket systems and guided ammunition to kyiv, within the framework of the third meeting of the contact group in support of Ukraine, organized on Wednesday in Brussels.

“For Germany, it is always important to carry out this support in coordination with our allies. As we have done with the Netherlands, so we will do with United Kingdom and with USA to deliver missile launch systems. There will be three of these systems with corresponding rockets with corresponding formation,” he said.

remembered that Germany has made “a proposal on how we can strengthen the eastern flank of NATO, with a reinforced presence” in Lithuania, where Berlin leads the battalion that the Alliance has deployed since 2017.

“In Germany we are prepared to present a combat brigade. This area is not without danger and we see this danger, but we are prepared to provide this long-term support. Now it’s about shaping this proposal, finding other allies to commit, and establishing this fighting force as quickly as possible,” he commented.

Lambrecht noted that “it is taken for granted that there will be troops on the ground.”

“It is important that this signal is given and there must be additional supports so that they can be relocated quickly. This is agreed with my Lithuanian colleague and it is something that we will propose today”, she transmitted, adding that “what is possible and what does not make sense” has been agreed with Lithuania.

“It is taken for granted that through this multinational combat troop there will be a presence of brigades and that this presence can be quickly supported by sending more soldiers. It is the most important system, strengthening with presence and guarantee of very fast support”, he affirmed.

For his part, the Latvian Defense Minister, Artis Pabriks, assured that if faced with the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia had reacted “correctly” the Russian annexation of Crimea would not have taken place in 2014.

“If we had acted correctly in 2014, there would have been no 2022. Will we act correctly now to prevent the next war? That is a great question and that basically means that we need the prepositioning of larger armed forces in countries like the Baltics,” he asserted.

He added that “there must be weapons, there must be the economic power of the West placed behind Ukraine because Ukraine must win and Russia must lose.”

“There is no other way out of this. If it is different, we will simply invite again Russia to some kind of activity in the coming years”, he communicated, and said that without responding to Moscow’s aggressions against its neighbors is how the Kremlin is “provoked”.

The Dutch minister, Kasja Ollongren, urged continued cooperation with other states to “jointly find more ways to provide Ukraine with what they need” and stressed the importance of training Ukrainians in the use of weapons systems.

His French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, highlighted the need to address the security system “in a global way” and assured that Paris remains committed to the fight against terrorism in the Sahel. He also warned of the actions of the Russian Wagner military organization in that area.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.