German Foreign Minister Admits Some Weapons Delivered to Ukraine Are Not Functional

In an interview with CNN, Foreign Minister Baerbock said there were serious technical problems with the weapons delivered to Ukraine, and admitted that efforts to supply weapons to Kiev had been hampered by delays.

Foreign Minister Baerbock pointed out that Ukraine would not benefit from unfulfilled arms promises or shipments of unusable military equipment. “Some of our systems are really outdated… and we declared some of them non-functional from the very beginning,” she said.

The German foreign minister explained that the reason was because Germany had not fought a major war in decades. “When we deliver something, it has to work in the field,” the German foreign minister stressed, which is why Germany has not supplied Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles, which she described as extremely sophisticated.

“This is the newest thing (we have), so we have to be clear about every detail, how it works, who can actually operate it. Yes, it takes a while… but when we deliver it, it has to work,” added Foreign Minister Baerbock, noting that similar considerations apply to a number of other German-made weapons.

For months, Ukraine has been asking Germany for Taurus missiles, which have a range of about 500 km and can carry a 500 kg warhead. However, despite media reports that Berlin was laying the groundwork for the deliveries, Foreign Minister Baerbock warned earlier this month that deliveries would not be made in the near future because “every detail has to be worked out in advance.”

Germany has also been reluctant to supply missiles, fearing an escalation if Kiev uses them to strike deep into Russian territory. Last week, Der Spiegel reported that Ukraine had refused to accept 10 outdated Leopard 1 tanks because of their poor mechanical condition. Ukrainian officials reportedly told the Germans that the armored vehicles arriving in Poland had to be repaired before being deployed to the front line, but there were no maintenance personnel or spare parts.

Russia has repeatedly warned the West not to supply weapons to Ukraine, asserting that such a move would only prolong the conflict without changing the final outcome./.