Germany has ‘moral’ duty to supply weapons to Ukraine: Envoy

BERLIN

Ukraine on Monday called on Germany to unblock arms sales to the country to deter Russia from a renewed attack.

Speaking to local media, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk warned that his country faces the real threat of an invasion from Russia.

“In order to prevent (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s imminent attack … Kyiv expects massive military support from Germany,” he told the Funke media group.

Melnyk said Germany bears the same historical responsibility for Ukraine as it does for Israel, due to the crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II.

“We expect the German government to abandon this blocking attitude – which is morally absolutely reprehensible – and urgently provide the defensive weapons Ukraine needs,” he said.

Despite its strong political and economic support for Ukraine, Germany has so far opposed weapons sales to Ukraine, and also blocked arms supplies to the country via NATO’s procurement agency.

The Ukrainian government has repeatedly said the weapons to be purchased via NATO are exclusively defensive tools to protect the county from aggression.

A German government spokesperson said on Monday that Berlin remains committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will continue its efforts for a political solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

“The federal government believes that the conflict there can only be resolved by diplomatic means and politically, not militarily,” deputy government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann told a news conference in Berlin.

She said recent developments will be discussed this week during US-Russia talks in Geneva on Monday, followed by NATO-Russia Council on Wednesday, and a meeting of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) planned for Thursday.

Russia has recently amassed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine’s eastern border, prompting fears that Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.

NATO allies accuse Russia of trying to destabilize the country by providing military support to separatist forces in Ukraine’s eastern regions.