26 JANUARY 2024
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has dismissed Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s assertion that North Korea is more effective at supplying artillery ammunition to Russia than the West is at supplying it to Ukraine.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda, citing the German defence minister, who made the comment in an interview with Bild
“These are Kuleba’s statements as we know them. He is prone to polarisation and exaggeration. That is his right, given the situation his country is in. But I see North Korean supplies in a slightly different light. The quantity might be there, but the quality is on a very different level,” Pistorius said.
He disagreed that Western partners are doing less than they could, stressing that “it’s not about willpower”.
“No, it is not. We are doing what we have to do. We are going to the limit of what we can justify for security reasons,” the minister said.
Pistorius also said the criticism of Germany’s arms supplies was unfair, especially compared with other European countries that have promised a lot, but delivered less to Ukraine.
“I can tell you that Germany sends cargo across the border almost every day with something, with weapons, with ammunition, even small batches when they arrive, just to be able to help quickly,” he said.
He noted that Berlin is currently facing difficulties because production cannot keep up at the rate it needs to.
Earlier, NATO signed contracts for the purchase of about 220,000 155-mm artillery shells worth US$1.2 billion.
The Alliance is pushing member states to overcome protectionist tendencies and agree on a single standard for artillery ammunition to increase its production.
Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karinš has called for ammunition for Ukraine to be purchased from non-EU countries in order to deliver the promised one million shells.
According to Reuters, in early December, EU member states had supplied only 480,000 of the one million artillery shells they had promised to send to Ukraine by spring 2024.
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https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/26/7438931/
This is a somewhat precarious situation for Ukraine. Of course, Kuleba is right, and I understand Pistorius’ stance, too. Germany has come forth to become one of Ukraine’s biggest arms suppliers, and this is something not to fret over, seeing how the US has allowed itself to be indirectly on the side of evil through Trump’s filthy politics.
However, Germany could’ve done this much sooner. We remember the drama over tanks one year ago. His boss, Scholz, is also still a sackless coward regarding the Taurus missiles. This is a very important weapon and with the US being an utter failure, it’s now more important than ever.
Altogether, Europe is still the lethargic, bureaucratic sloth it’s always been, even when a terrible war is raging on its doorstep. If this goes on for much longer, the EU/NATO will find itself manning the trenches one day in the not-so-distant future. I think this hasn’t hit home yet in many skulls across the continent.
Being Kuleba is not easy, I admit, but despite the difficulties, it’s very important to walk on eggs, now that Germany is Ukraine’s number one arms supplier. Maybe he should criticize France more, or Italy, or Spain.
Right, Mr. Ofp, much time had been wasted, that’s a major reason why Nato can’t live up to thedemands of war now. In Germany, much of the blame has to be put on Pistorius’ predecessor, Christine Lambrecht, who simply wasn’t a good choice for the demanding job. To lead the bureaucratic behemoth Bundeswehr and to overcome the consequences of decades of neglect is a mamooth task even in more peaceful times and Lambrecht lacked the insights, energy and determination to force the organisation into wartime mode. Pistorius is better suited, by character and experience, for this huge endeavour, but even he is struggling to implement the vast systemic changes that are necessary now.
I suspect that France, Italy and Spain have similar problems, but at least those countries should have a larger potential of available labour that could be put to work in arms production. Since they have supplied a much lower share of their GDP to arms deliveries so far, it’s their turn now to do more. They may feel less necessity to do so, since they’re farther away from RuSSian bombings, but when the future of free and democratic Europe is at stake, they should come to the rescue. More pressure from EU and Nato could help to get them into gear. There is no more time to waste, no government can afford to ignore
the seriousness of the security situation any longer.
I put the most blame on the fat tick called Merkel. Merkel did nothing but stupid things, but giving a gynecologist the post of defense minister has got to be one of the stupidest. Oh, and the loser from the Saarland, Kramp-Karrenbauer, was hardly any better. None of them have any military experience, and both were never very good at politicking, either.