Chair of Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee says ammo for Ukraine should be bought across world
That’s according to the chief of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth, who spoke with journalists in Kyiv on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reports Ukrinform.
"We must stop Russian imperialism. If Ukraine loses, the war will continue and there will be no peace in Europe," Roth emphasized.
The German politician admitted that Europe made "a couple of mistakes" by focusing exclusively on the capabilities of its own defense industry. Currently, according to him, it is necessary to buy everything available around the world in order to provide the Ukrainian military with ammunition as soon as possible. The lawmaker called on large European economies such as Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain to follow suit of their Baltic and Northern European partners, given that it is possible that large-scale military and financial support will no longer come from the United States.
He criticized promises, including that made by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (who is also in Kyiv on February 24), to provide Ukraine with a million artillery rounds and then fail to deliver.
“Priority number one: ammo, ammo, and ammo. Number two is air defense systems and missiles for them. Number three is armed drones," the politician said, listing the most urgent needs of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
At the same time, the German legislator added that it should also be about "long-range missiles that are very accurate." This week, coalition parties supported a resolution calling for the transfer of such missiles, the member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany recalled. At the same time, he emphasized that the decision on the supply of such missiles as Taurus is made exclusively by government.
Roth noted that Ukrainians are grateful to Germany for what the country has been providing for defense, but this is far from enough. The situation at the front lines is very tense as Russia continues to inflict merciless blows and Putin mercilessly sends more and more undertrained Russians to the front, while Ukraine tries to save every life.
"This army, this country currently needs much more military support so that Ukraine remains free, democratic, and sovereign," Roth concluded.
It should be recalled that earlier this week, the Bundestag did not support the opposition's call to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles. The only deputy from the ruling coalition who cast her vote for the motion was the chair of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. Other representatives of the three coalition parties, despite the fact that many of them support the idea (such as Michael Roth himself), voted along their party line, which does not encourage supporting any proposals put forward by opposition.
