Germany 'Not Ukraine's Ally,' Top Official Says

Germany's defense minister Boris Pistorius has said that his country is doing everything it can to help Ukraine fight Russian aggression but noted that Kyiv was not an ally of Berlin.

The comments by Pistorius during a television interview follow accusations that Berlin has been reluctant to provide military support for Ukraine to use in the war started by Vladimir Putin.

Tom O'Donnell, a geopolitical analyst based in Berlin, told Newsweek that Pistorius wants to see Ukraine get more weapons from Germany and the EU but may face opposition from within his government.

"Maybe Pistorius is serious about doing this but my impression is beyond whatever he wants to do, I don't think the government here has the will to really ramp this up," O'Donnell said.

Despite pledging in November to double its military aid to Kyiv in 2024, Germany has been under fire for refusing to send its Taurus missiles to Ukrainian forces despite the U.K. and France supplying similar long-range weapons.

Berlin has supplied Ukraine with artillery, Leopard tanks, IRIS-T and Patriot air defense systems, ammunition, vehicles, drones and other weaponry. Pistorius defended his country's record as the second-largest supporter of Kyiv's forces after the U.S.

"We deliver what we can. The same applies to almost all other allies and partners. But Germany is not an ally of Ukraine and therefore not in an alliance," he told the broadcaster ZDG according to a translation, in comments widely reported by Ukrainian media.

In July, NATO said that Ukraine can join the alliance of which Germany is a key part, although it has not specified when.

"We currently have the problem that the arms industry cannot deliver in certain areas as quickly as the needs are there," Pistorius said, adding the defense industry is increasing capacity "wherever it can."

He gave the example that it took six months to restart production of ammunition for Leopard tanks.

He also criticized the pledge made last year by the European Union to increase its output of 155 mm shells to one million rounds of ammunition by spring, which "raised expectations that ultimately could not be fulfilled." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed in November that the EU was behind schedule.

"You can assume that things will get better in the next few months," Pistorius said, as Germany is set to deliver almost 200,000 rounds of ammunition. "But everything takes time, and it's not a question of political decisions or financial resources."

There is concern that as the war drags on, Ukraine's allies will balk at continuing to supply it with weapons, although Pistorius rejected the claim that the West did not want to see a full Ukrainian victory on the battlefield.

"We should be more afraid that Russia will win this war," he said, because it would mean that Germany will face "a completely new security situation."

Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian foreign ministry for comment.

O'Donnell said that it was notable that Pistorius' comments about pushing for more weapons follow delays in upping production across Europe.

"The basic problem is that in the EU especially, everybody gave old weapons that were in storage and that's pretty much run out," he said. "If they wanted to be producing weapons at a good pace, generally it takes a couple of years to ramp that up and they simply didn't."

"I think there's a real problem, and Pistorius would like to do something about it, but I'm not sure that the apparatus is there. I would say in the German Chancellor's office, in other places, there are people who would rather see a stalemate," O'Donnell said. "My feeling is that to them, what's wrong with a stalemate? It means both sides can't advance, it's painful and now they'll talk."