The CDU said it was acting on an earlier commitment by the German government made in late April to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons. “For the Ukrainian military, it’s a matter of quickly sending reliable hardware that can be deployed immediately to the front line. Such material is in the inventory of the Bundeswehr and is to be withdrawn from use by the Bundeswehr: the Fuchs armored personnel carrier,” the application states. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has come under constant criticism at home and abroad for his failure to adequately equip Ukrainian forces, despite continued pledges of military and civilian support. The first delivery of heavy weapons from Ukraine to Germany arrived on June 21, four months after the start of the Russian invasion. In addition to seven German-made howitzers (Panzerhaubitze 2000), the delivery included 14,900 anti-tank mines, 500 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 2,700 anti-aircraft missiles as well as grenades and gun ammunition. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said in a nightly speech on Wednesday evening that Western-supplied weapons were “finally” having a significant impact on his country’s war against Russia. “Finally, it is felt that the Western artillery – the weapons we received from our partners – began to work very strongly,” he said.
