Germany to Send Anti-aircraft Tanks to Ukraine

Ramstein, MINA – German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said the German government had agreed to sign off on the delivery of Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to assist Ukrainian troops, having previously been cautious about the conflict.

Lambrecht said his country was also trying to reduce its dependence on energy imports from Russia, Al Jazeera reports.

It was conveyed by Lambrecht at a meeting of 40 countries held at the US Airbase Ramstein in Germany on Tuesday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has previously been heavily criticized for refusing to send heavy weapons directly to Ukraine.

Critics accuse Olaf Scholz of weak leadership and say his Social Democratic Party (SPD) is too reluctant to break away from their detente policy towards Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of Defense of the United States (US) Lloyd Austin welcomed Germany’s decision to send tanks.

“The system will give Ukraine real capabilities,” he said after talks with Lambrecht and dozens of their colleagues at the US Ramstein Air Base in west Germany. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)