Germany has decided to send 5,000 helmets to Ukraine amid fears of a Russian
invasion. However, Berlin's intentions were mocked by the residents
themselves as well as by the Mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko.
Speaking to German media; Bild, Thursday (27/1/2022), Klitschko who is a
former world heavyweight boxing champion criticized Berlin for lack of
assistance in strengthening his country's eastern front.
According to him, Germany's intentions have left him “speechless.” Klitschko
is the head of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform, a pro-European
party that with popular factions forms a local coalition government.
On Wednesday, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced Berlin
would not send any weapons to Ukraine, but would send 5,000 protective
helmets.
"The defense minister clearly doesn't understand that we are dealing with a
perfectly equipped Russian army that can start attacking further into
Ukraine at any moment," Klitschko told Bild.
“5,000 helmets is an absolute joke. What will Germany send in support next?
Pillows?” Berlin has a policy of not supplying weapons to crisis zones, a
long-standing decision by the previous government that was also backed by a
new coalition formed in December.
“In recent years, the German government has repeatedly decided not to supply
lethal weapons.
There is a reason for this, which of course is also based on all the
developments of the last few years and decades," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said
Tuesday, a day before the decision to ship the helmets was made.
Germany's donation of protective equipment comes as Russia is accused of
stationing 100,000 troops on the border, with several Western countries
claiming that the Kremlin is planning an attack.
Such claims have repeatedly been rejected by Russia, but tensions remain at
an all-time high.
"We do not intend to take aggressive action. We will not attack or invade
Ukraine," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said last week.
Ukrainian-born German writer and politician Marina Weisband wrote on Twitter
in German; "The plan is clear for the 5,000 Ukrainian troops to run across
the border and intercept the Russian troops deployed there."
He further lamented that in order to prevent war it was necessary to give a
clear signal that any aggression would lead to the cancellation of the Nord
Stream 2 project and the disconnection of Russia from SWIFT.
"Could you be more embarrassing?" asked Ruprecht Polenz, a prominent member
of the Christian Democratic Party, in a tweet to express his displeasure at
the German government's decision. "Does 5,000 helmets make an invasion of
Russia less likely?"
