German army incapable of carrying out NATO duties: Berlin
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Germany is now facing a deficit in its arsenal due to the weapons and equipment it has been pumping into Ukraine for around a year.
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Herman Bundeswehr soldiers of the NATO enhanced forward presence battalion wait to greet German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht upon her arrival at Lithuania's Rukla military base on February 22, 2022 (AP Photo)
A secret report prepared by the German Ministry of Defense and handed over to the Defense Committee in the Bundestag revealed that the country's military was suffering from a lack of arms, equipment, and operations.
The report said the German military could only sufficiently carry out its NATO duties only within a certain scope, as it is facing extreme hardship in fulfilling its commitments to the alliance.
The German navy would not even be able to send a ship to the UN mission off Lebanon's coasts, the report added.
The report rapped the financial situation and the training within the German army, saying they were both in bad shape while clarifying that the heavy equipment and weapons they had were old and needed reparations. "There is a deficit in the munition and basic military equipment. There is not enough thermal underwear for the servicemen."
The report also highlighted various problems that the German military was facing, such as the problems that the weapons, air defense systems, and high-tech communication systems on warships, stressing the need for operational preparedness within the armed forces.
German media reported in October that Germany was more than unprepared for a prolonged armed conflict due to low-running ammunition stockpiles that would only last for up to two days.
German Parliament defense commissioner Eva Hoegl told Business Insider that her country needed an additional 20 billion euros ($19.4 billion) to acquire enough munitions to meet NATO requirements.
There have been reports for months saying the German military was running out of weapons that can be sent to Ukraine, with Kiev still projected to be dependent on defense assistance from Berlin.
Germany is Ukraine's biggest European backer, with Berlin continuing to transfer weaponry to Ukraine that even its own forces do not have.
"We delivered whatever we had: anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems, mines, guns, tons of ammunition, and non-lethal aid. Since then, we've progressed to more intricate and valuable systems," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said previously.
"Self-propelled howitzers, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, anti-aircraft systems, counter-battery radar," are among the high-value systems sent to Ukraine, which Germany is short on.
At the same time, the federal government has been supplying Ukraine with weaponry from the Bundeswehr arsenal, causing Berlin's need for weapons to surge even further.
Ukraine became the second largest importer of German weapons after Berlin approved the exportation of $584 million worth of weaponry to Ukraine within the first 6 months of 2022.
