Vienna: The German government took an extraordinary step, saying it would send arms and other supplies directly to Ukraine. Officials said that Germany is also ready to support some of the restrictions of the ‘Swift’ global banking system for Russia. Meanwhile, German officials said their country was preparing to close its airspace to Russian aircraft. Transport Minister Volker Wissing supported such a move and ordered all preparations for it. Germany’s chancellor’s office announced on Saturday it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine “as soon as possible”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement: “Russia’s attack on Ukraine marks a turning point. It threatens our entire post-war system. In such a situation, it is our duty to help Ukraine to the best of its ability to defend Vladimir Putin against the invading army.” This news comes shortly after Germany’s Ministry of Economic and Climate said in a statement on Saturday evening that Germany is allowing the Netherlands to send 400 German-made anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.
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The government has also approved the consignment of nine D-30 howitzers and ammunition from Estonia. Significantly, Germany’s move is extraordinary because it has a policy of not exporting lethal weapons to the same conflict areas. Recently on Friday, government officials had said that they would follow this policy.
But Germany, part of the 27 EU members, was criticized by Ukrainian officials and other allies for not helping. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed reports of the arms consignment and praised Scholz on Twitter, saying: “Keep it up, Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The Anti-War Coalition is active.” (agency)