German Arms Manufacturer Offers 100 Self-propelled Artillery Units For Ukraine

Illustration of the German KMW PzH2000 self-propelled artillery. (Wikimedia Commons/US Air Force/Master Sgt. John E. Lasky)

JAKARTA - The offer of arms assistance has returned to Ukraine, in the midst of the Russian invasion which has entered its seventh week, causing thousands of deaths and injuries, and displaced millions of other residents.

Most recently, a German government source said on Sunday that Ukraine had accepted an offer for the delivery of a sizeable self-propelled howitzer from a German arms manufacturer.

German weekly Welt am Sonntag reported on Saturday that arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) is offering Ukraine 100 howitzers, a type of self-propelled artillery weapon, citing unnamed government sources in Kyiv.

"The offer is there," the German source told Reuters, without giving further details.

The Welt am Sonntag report said the manufacturer did not currently have armaments ready for delivery. The scheme used, the German military offered 100 howitzers to Kyiv. Then, the manufacturer will ship the new weapons to the German army once they are ready, possibly in the second half of 2024.

Arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann was not immediately available for comment. A spokesman for the German Defense Ministry declined to comment.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Germany reversed its longstanding policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones, saying it would supply Strela missiles, among other weapons, to Ukraine.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday it was important that Germany only supply weapons that the Ukrainian army understands and understands how to use, such as equipment older than the army of former communist East Germany.