It seems that the German government has some sort of bipolar disorder. They provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a cool counter battery COBRA radar, and after a few days they once again block the supply of armored vehicles. Mr. Scholz, what’s wrong with you?

As reported by Tagesschau, the Rheinmetall concern restored 16 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, upgraded them to the Marder 1A3 level, and began similar work with another 14 vehicles. In the future, the concern is ready to modernize 70 more IFVs of this type. The purpose of the update is to sell equipment to Ukraine.

Rheinmetall took these Marders from the storage bases, but the German government led by Chancellor Scholz does not allow the sale of IFVs for export again, citing… the March agreements not to send heavy equipment to Ukraine, which have already been violated by the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, many countries of Eastern Europe and… Germany itself. It’s definitely bipolar.

The “agreement” continues to be referred to by German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht: “No country has yet delivered Western-style armored personnel carriers or main battle tanks, and we have agreed with our partners that we will not do it alone.”

That is, all these M113, FV103 Spartans, YPR-765, all of these – are either non-Western samples, or the minister can’t see the obvious.

At the same time, the Bundestag is once again hinting to its government that it is time to be bolder, and the White House “expects more from Germany in terms of aid to Ukraine.” But no!

In addition, it became known that the German IRIS-T air defense systems, which have been under discussion for almost six months, and which Germany apparently agreed to hand over to the Armed Forces… are being delayed. Ukraine will receive two IRIS-T systems by the end of 2022, and two more in early 2023. Why not in 2027? Shall we wait for a few more missile strikes on peaceful cities?!

Germany is actually doing a lot for Ukraine and Ukrainians, but the inconsistency and indecision of the government of the largest EU country send the wrong signal to the Russians. It’s time for Mr. Scholz to realize that the more weapons Ukraine gets, the sooner this war will end.

This is exactly what the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba alludes to, expressing his disappointment with the position of the German government.

Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from genocide. Not a single rational argument on why these weapons cannot be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) September 13, 2022

Technical characteristics of the Marder IFV
Weight – 28.5 – 37.4 t (Marder 1A1/A2 – Marder 1A5)
Length – 6.79 m
Width – 3.24 m
Height – 2.98 m
Crew – 3+6
Armor – welded steel 20 mm
Armament – 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh 202 automatic cannon, MILAN ATGM launcher 7.62 mm MG3 machine gun
Engine – MTU MB 833 Ea-500 diesel
Power – 441 kW (591 hp)
Ground clearance – 0.45 m
Operational range – 520 km
Maximum speed – 75 km/h