Sergey Nechaev, the Russian ambassador to Berlin, asserted that Germany is exerting every effort to prevent a direct confrontation with Russia and is instead using Ukraine as a pawn in an effort to hand Moscow a geopolitical defeat.
Nechaev did not rule out that Germany might give Kiev fighter jets during an interview with the Izvestia newspaper that was published on Monday, despite Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s repeated claims in recent months that there are no intentions to do so.
The range of German weapons supplied to Ukraine is constantly expanding. From the deliveries of helmets, Berlin moved on to pumping the Kiev regime with modern deadly weapon systems, including heavy battle tanks, howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, and air defense guns,” Nechaev said.
“The German government has long crossed all possible ‘red lines’ in its effort to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. So, we have no particular illusions,” the diplomat added.
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Nechaev claims that Berlin won’t go so far as to send its own forces to confront Russia on the battlefield, but such a move would: “would amount to the direct involvement of Germany in an armed conflict with Russia, which Berlin, at least at this stage, is trying to avoid in every possible way. And it’s unlikely that the German voters will approve of such plans. It’s easier to fight with someone else’s hands,” Nechaev said.
In the EU, one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters during the crisis with Russia has been the German government. The Bundeswehr, the nation’s armed forces, claim they gave Kiev military assistance worth €2 billion ($2.2 billion) last year and want to provide Kiev another €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) in 2023.
Berlin has already committed to providing Kiev with a number of items this year, including 40 Marder infantry combat vehicles and 18 Leopard 2 main battle tanks. The first batch of personnel who are being taught to operate equipment for Ukrainian forces in Germany finished their training in mid-March.
