Following the US-led defense meeting held in Ramstein Air Base last Tuesday, Germany has announced that it will be supplying Ukraine with 50 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks. This is a major shift in its foreign policy for Ukraine as it refused to send heavy weapons to Kyiv due to its dependence on Russian oil and a lucrative sales agreement providing weapons to Putin.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced the donation during the opening remarks at the defense meeting in Ramstein, a meeting that was solely focused on rallying financial and military support for Ukraine to help them repel Russian attacks in the Donbas region.
“Yesterday, we decided that Germany will make the delivery of ‘Gepard’ anti-aircraft tanks possible to Ukraine,” Lambrecht said.
.@SecDef: As Minister Lambrecht announced just today, Germany will send Ukraine some 50 Cheetah anti-aircraft systems. And yesterday, the British government announced that it will provide Ukraine with important anti-aircraft capabilities as well. pic.twitter.com/zCTA4vGsVh
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) April 26, 2022
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomed the donation, stating that these German tanks would provide “real capability” for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“I wanted to especially welcome a major decision by our German hosts as Minister Lambrecht announced just today that Germany will send Ukraine some 50 Cheetah(Gerpard) anti-aircraft systems,” Austin said
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