German Defense Company Rheinmetall Says It Will Send 100 Marder Infantry Combat Vehicles To Ukraine

Illustration of Marder infantry fighting vehicle. (Wikimedia Commons/Ralf Dillenburger)

JAKARTA - German defense company Rheinmetall has sought approval to export 100 'old' Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, defense sources told Reuters on Monday, in what will be the first shipment of heavy weapons from Germany to Ukraine.

The company is seeking export licenses for vehicles in their current state, aiming to recover them over the coming months before shipping them to Ukraine, the source said, confirming a report in the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

Rheinmetall's move is set to 'force' German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, to take a clear position on whether heavy weapons can be shipped directly from Germany to Ukraine, as the Marder deal requires approval from the national security council, chaired by Chancellor Scholz.

A Rheinmetall spokesman declined to comment on this.

Chancellor Scholz has faced growing criticism at home and abroad for his reluctance to deliver heavy weapons such as tanks and howitzers to help Ukraine fend off Russian attacks.

Separately, on their first visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded two months ago, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sunday pledged additional military assistance to Kyiv, including advanced weapons.

It is known that the demand for heavy weapons by Ukraine has increased since Moscow shifted its offensive to the eastern Donbas region. The area is considered more suitable for tank battles than the area around Kyiv, where most of the fighting has taken place so far.

Moscow has described its actions in Ukraine, which is now in its third month, as a special military operation, to carry out demilitarization and denazification.