Germany Approves Export Of Anti-Aircraft Vehicles To Ukraine

In talks this Tuesday April 26th, the German government approved the export of armored anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine. These shipments mark Germany’s first shipment of heavier offensive weapons to Ukraine throughout the course of the Russian invasion. The announcement comes after Germany’s former stance that they couldn’t spare their Marder infantry vehicles to Ukraine which came into direct controversy with an accusation that they had been eradicating items from a German arms industry list of what could be sent to Kyiv, according to The Washington Post.

Since Moscow shifted its war focus onto the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the country has intensified its calls for heavy weapons to be sent to the region. German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht wrote to the ruling coalition that requests to export weapons to Ukraine would “be checked with absolute priority,” prior to these announcements on Tuesday. In response to recent criticisms of low German involvement in Ukraine, Lambrecht further responded, “Germany, together with its allies, stands firmly at the side of its Ukrainian friends who are in dire need,” she said, acknowledging “criticism of Germany in recent weeks.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made his own position on sending military aid clear just last week as he stated, “We must do everything possible to avoid a direct military confrontation between NATO and a highly armed superpower like Russia, a nuclear power.” His stance has been one of wary caution throughout the invasion and has drawn a lot of criticism from both German political parties and voices around the world.

While his words do hold value — a world conflict with nuclear powers could be extremely deadly to the world population — though there are some key detriments to this restrictive approach. With war crimes and brutal atrocities being unravelled in Ukraine in recent weeks, Russia’s inhumane tactics and extreme measures have become horrifyingly clear. Importantly, Russia made the first move in this invasion, and Ukraine is now defending itself against a physically larger power. In an ideal world, Russia would end its plethora of war crimes and draw back its troops immediately, welcoming peace talks and a quick ceasefire; however, this is unlikely to happen anytime soon and war crimes in Ukraine have revealed the invasion for what it is by definition: a genocide. These crimes must be alleviated through the help of NATO allies as a preventative measure to innocent citizens being harmed — there is unfortunately no other way when a large avoidance of direct, peaceful cooperation exists in Russia.

As mentioned previously, until last week, Scholz had been worried about triggering a bigger conflict, generating a cautious response which drew criticism from all parties in Germany due to the urgent nature of the war, according to The Washington Post. Other countries — heavily including the United States and Britain — have sent surface-to-air missile systems, anti-tank missiles, and javelin missiles to Ukraine in recent weeks, according to NBC News, many times being warned by Putin that conflicts could escalate as a result, although none of these threats have been proven credible yet. With Ukraine as the underdogs in an unprovoked reign of violence from Russia, it is necessary for other countries with advanced resources to help Ukraine protect its ordinary citizens, families and exhausted volunteers who have been subjected to Russian war crimes and anguish since early March.

If Ukraine is left without resources to defend itself against a much larger and militarily backed country, eventually the tides will turn horribly against its favor. While violence is harmful to everyone involved, looking ahead we must remember who initiated this conflict and recognize that now, our biggest goal as an allied force is to do our best to protect the human rights and peace in Ukraine by lending support and always remaining cognizant of the potential for growing complications on an international scope.

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