Defense Minister Pistorius announced the delivery of three rocket launcher systems to Ukraine during his visit to the US. He assured his American colleague Austin of Germany’s greater military commitment.
Germany will pay for the delivery of three HIMARS rocket artillery systems from the US to Ukraine. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made the decision public after talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington.
“They come from the stocks of the US armed forces and are paid by us,” he said. Computers can cost more than double-digit millions. HIMARS (“High Mobility Artillery Rocket System”) is a multiple rocket launcher artillery system mounted on a truck chassis.
Boris Pistorius and Lloyd Austin in Washington.
Pistorius emphasizes Germany’s increased commitment
Ahead of the NATO summit in July, Pistorius wants to use his trip to the US and Canada to, among other things, correct a critical view of Germany that has emerged in previous years and clarify Germany’s strong military commitment.
Pistorius pledged that Germany is ready to take on more military responsibility for security in Europe and the world. He announced that Germany was ready to make “greater contributions to fair Atlantic burden sharing”. He noted the achievement of NATO’s two percent target, the continued deployment of a combat-ready brigade in Lithuania and the air defense initiative in Europe launched by Germany.
At the same time, Pistorius, during his meeting with Austin at the Pentagon, called on the US government not to slacken in its collective commitment to Europe. Pistorius was received there with full military honors.
Austin’s compliments
In a speech at the Pentagon, Austin noted what Germany is doing for security in Ukraine and NATO, as well as security in the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans.
“Our two proud democracies are at a standstill,” Austin said, calling Germany a “power for peace and security” whether it’s preventing Kremlin aggression or bolstering stability in the Indo-Pacific region. He said: “Germany remains one of our strongest and most reliable partners.”
Billion orders in America
Earlier in the day, Pistorius had visited a helicopter factory in Philadelphia owned by defense company Boeing. The CH47-F “Chinook” heavy transport helicopter is manufactured there. Germany has ordered 60 of these modern Block II variants for the Bundeswehr. In future, they will be the workhorse of the Air Force when it comes to moving personnel and supplies. Pistorius was assured that all was on schedule and that delivery would take place by 2027.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Germany has ordered 23 billion euros worth of weapons and equipment for the Bundeswehr from the United States. In total there are about 380 contracts with US defense companies.
During a visit to EU Parliament President Metzola, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Ukraine wants to take the initiative after the arrival of Western weapons.
Ukraine wants to regain the initiative
With the arrival of Western weapons, Ukraine wants to regain the initiative. It’s no secret that Russian armed forces are currently on the offensive in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a press conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metzola in Kiev.
“As soon as the arms deliveries arrive, we will stop their efforts,” Zelensky promised. But his army needs “something powerful” for this. An outdoor press conference scheduled to be held in front of the President’s office was canceled shortly after due to an air raid alert.
According to Zelensky, the Russian military is currently preparing a major offensive. For this purpose, forces will be collected to the north and east of the front. However, not everything went as well as the Russians had hoped. “I don’t want to raise your spirits,” the Ukrainian president assured.
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