UK and Germany take over chairmanship of Ukraine Contact Group
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With the Trump administration backing the US away from its full-fledged support of Ukraine, Germany and the UK have now taken over the chairmanship of the Ukraine Contact Group, originally set up and chaired by former US President Joe Biden.
At a meeting this Friday at NATO headquarters in Brussels, a total of 40 countries will discuss military support for Ukraine.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth will only appear digitally, but according to his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, the US will be represented by an in-person delegation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also be present.
Speaking as the delegates convened, Pistorius gave his take on the current situation in Ukraine.
"Despite all hopes, which the American President also repeatedly emphasises, Putin continues to attack Ukraine unabated and is increasingly accepting a greater number of civilian casualties, not only condoning them, but probably deliberately," he said.
He added that Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure are increasing, with no recognisable decrease in hostilities on Putin's part despite ongoing ceasefire talks.
"He accepts the deaths of civilians and children, including children, such as recently in the Ukrainian industrial town of Kryvyi Rih, and he doesn't seem to care," Pistorius said. "It is absolutely clear to me that we therefore still need a militarily strong Ukraine, and it needs our support."
Announcement of further military support
Following the adoption of the debt-financed financial package last month, the German Bundestag's Budget Committee has made a further €3 billion available to Ukraine.
These additional funds will be invested in further air defence systems of different ranges and guided missiles, ammunition and spare parts. Among the supplies are four IRIS-T air defence systems, including 300 guided missiles, 300 reconnaissance drones, 120 MANPADS, 25 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 5 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks, 14 artillery systems, 100 ground surveillance radars, 30 PATRIOT guided missiles, and an additional 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition.
Ukrainian soldiers repair a Leopard 2 tank in Zaporizhzhya region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
Andriy Andriyenko/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.
Boosting the Bundeswehr
In his remarks on Friday morning, Pistorius also mentioned the recently concluded coalition agreement between Germany's Christian Democrats and Social Democrats, establishing a new government after the recent federal elections.
According to Pistorius, Germany is making a turnaround.
"With this agreement, we are setting the course for a strong Bundeswehr," he said. "This is extremely important and therefore also for our security in Germany and Europe. Because nobody can ignore one realisation: We are at the beginning of a new era and we will have to prove ourselves in the coming years. We will have to prove ourselves."
However, Pistorius cautioned that everything depends on Europe "becoming capable of deterrence and defence, and doing so in a cohesive manner and in a correspondingly short time".
"We will be spending a lot of money on this. That alone is historic, and we will ensure that this money is invested quickly, efficiently and wisely. We are optimising the structure of the Bundeswehr. With a new military service, we will ensure the growth and sustainability of the troops."
The reinstatement of compulsory military service, which was suspended in 2011, is not part of the German government's coalition agreement. Instead, the incoming government is planning the "Swedish model" of voluntary service.
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In order to combat the shortage of personnel, Pistorius said, Germany needs to make the Bundeswehr more attractive.
"This is both a prerequisite and a consequence," he said. "And we will de-bureaucratise and speed up procurement and planning as well as infrastructure expansion. That is also a clearly stated goal for this legislative period."
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