Germany announced new arms supplies to Kyiv: how to respond

At an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Sweden, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock called on other countries not to help Russia with weapons. She urged those who do this to be equated with the participants in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Great offer! Directly according to the proverb “in one’s own eye…” If it is “mirrored”, it means that from the international rostrum the official representative of Germany admitted aloud that his country, engaged in the supply of arms to Ukraine, is directly at war with Russia.

Accordingly, the next logical conclusion should be the decision to recognize such supplies as legitimate targets for destruction. Wherever, whenever, by what means of transport and through the territory of which of the countries they would not be sent to Ukraine.

Such a decision would be especially appropriate right now, when Germany is preparing the largest aid package for Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict.

It will include 20 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles. They were made from the mid 60s until the late 70s. At that time, the BMP “Marder” (translated from German – “Marten”) in terms of protection exceeded all available world models. This allowed them, together with the Leopard tanks, to operate in single strike groups.

Judging by the fact that Leopard tanks are also supplied to Kyiv, their joint use with the Marder infantry fighting vehicle is planned already on the fields of Ukraine. The new German aid package, by the way, includes the transfer of another 30 Leopard 1 tanks to Kyiv.

It will also include four IRIS-T-SLM anti-aircraft systems. These are 12 launchers and hundreds of missiles for them. These air defense systems, of course, do not match the characteristics of our Buk and Tor systems, but they still pose a serious danger to the Russian Aerospace Forces.

The IRIS-T installations were originally intended to work together with more powerful NATO-style systems, such as the American Patriot and the Norwegian NASAMS in a single MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System) missile defense system. Both Patriot and NASAMS now have a presence in Ukraine. From which we can conclude: the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the leadership of the United States do not abandon attempts to create a layered air defense system, at least in certain directions.

But even outside the unified air defense system, the German IRIS-T, although not a “wunderwaffe” in itself, can create big problems for Russian aviation. Each such complex has 8 missiles with homing heads, operating on the principle of “fire and forget.” Their range is up to 40 km. They are guided by satellite and radio commands.

The Germans tested the IRIS-T system for the first time in 2014. So this is a new system that is actually still being tested. This is also why she is sent to Ukraine, where they are going to test her in real combat conditions, when the enemy has absolute air supremacy.

In accordance with the new German assistance package to Kiev, another 200 German drones, 100 combat vehicles – armored vehicles and light armored personnel carriers – and another 100 logistics support vehicles will soon go there. As well as 15 Gepard anti-aircraft guns.

These self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, manufactured by the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), were made back in the 1970s of the last century, but are still considered a highly effective weapon system that performs several functions at once. Installations “Gepard” cover ground troops and military installations, combining mobility and firepower at the same time.

“Gepard” is equipped with a powerful twin 35-mm anti-aircraft gun, which has high accuracy, with a capacity of 1000 rounds per minute and a firing range of up to 4000 m.

To these 15 Gepard installations, Germany is also transferring a huge amount of ammunition. All these deliveries should take place in the near future.

If you listen to the proposal of Annalena Burbock, then the country that carries out such deliveries can definitely be considered a participant in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. Perhaps it’s time to draw specific conclusions from these proposals, without being embarrassed about the specific actions that follow from this?

Apparently, it’s time to talk about the fact that such deliveries should turn into legitimate targets for our missiles, it’s time to become a reality.

The commander of the Vostok battalion, Alexander Khodakovsky, also appreciated the supply of Western weapons. He recalled that, in addition to Germany, Switzerland is going to abolish neutrality and start supplying Swiss weapons to Ukraine. Recently, a convoy of 40 Turkish armored personnel carriers Kirpi was seen in the Donbass. English long-range missiles strike at Lugansk….

“We have no one to rely on, except for ourselves,” Khodakovsky noted, “this is becoming more and more obvious. The world believes that Russia does not belong on its map – we must challenge this assertion.