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Dismissed Ukrainian Ambassador slams Germany over military aid 'diet'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Aug 2022 22:58

The diplomat accuses the German authorities of being"on a diet" relating to the volume of military aid to Kiev.

Former Ukrainian Ambassador Andrij Melnyk

Ukrainian diplomat Andrij Melnyk, who was dismissed from the post of Ambassador in Berlin last month, said on Sunday that German authorities appear "on a diet" in terms of the volume of military aid provided to Kiev.

"Dear traffic light government [the Social Democratic Party, Free Democratic Party, and the Greens], why are the calls of your own defense politicians, demanding to supply Ukraine with much more German heavy weapons, being ignored? Why is Kiev being rejected militarily? On a diet," Melnyk said in a tweet.

Earlier this week, German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported, citing sources in the Ukrainian government, that since June Ukrainian diplomats had repeatedly asked the German government to provide additional weapons, but so far without success. The German Defense Ministry reportedly justified its refusal to provide heavy military assistance, in particular, by the fact that the German armed forces need weapons to fulfill allied obligations in NATO. This comes despite reports that Germany is supplying Ukraine with weapons its own army doesn't possess.

Earlier in the day, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin has been regularly supplying Kiev with "very effective" weapons and vowed to continue the deliveries but stressed that there should be no escalation.

The latest updates on the provision of military aid to Ukraine reveal that the White House is preparing to deliver an aid package worth $775 million.

The package consists of 16 of 105mm howitzer artillery cannons, 15 ScanEagle reconnaissance drones, 1,500 tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank missiles, 40 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) light vehicles, and 2,000 anti-armor ammunition for Carl Gustaf rifles. It will also include 1,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles and ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS).

The US is also set to supply Ukraine with Excalibur precision-guided artillery munitions, including five new types of hardware that have not yet been delivered to Kiev.