German Foreign Minister admits that Berlin had occasionally sent outdated military equipments to Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has reportedly acknowledged that Berlin had at times sent outdated or nearly non-functional military equipment to Ukraine.

In an interview with US media, Baerbock was quoted as saying, “It does not only help to promise, and then you cannot deliver, or deliver things which do not work … Some of our systems were really old-fashioned.”

“So, because we know and we said that in the beginning, some are not really functioning, when we deliver, it does have to work in the field,” she added.

Recently, Ukraine had refused to accept a batch of 10 archaic Leopard-1A5 tanks from Germany, citing the need for extensive repair work, as reported by the German publication Spiegel.

Ukraine argued that the repair and maintenance work would necessitate spare parts and technical expertise that Kyiv did not possess.

While Germany initially lagged in responding to Ukraine’s demand for military aid, it has gradually become the second-largest contributor of arms aid to Ukraine.

According to a report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany had sent military aid worth $18.9 billion to Ukraine by July 2023, making it second only to the United States, which sent $46.6 billion worth of arms and military equipment.

In May of this year, Berlin pledged to send a military aid package worth 2.7 billion euros ($2.95 billion), signaling Germany’s commitment to supporting Ukraine.

This development comes on the heels of Poland, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, refusing to provide additional weaponry to Kyiv amid a dispute over Ukrainian grain.

Poland, along with Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, had imposed bans on the imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds to safeguard their domestic markets.

Ukraine reacted strongly to this move, threatening legal action against these countries unless they reversed their decision.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that his country had chosen to prioritize its own defense in the future, stating, “We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons.”

In terms of arms exports to Ukraine for the ongoing conflict, Poland had offered little more than 320 Soviet-era tanks and 14 MiG-29 fighter jets.