- "The training for these rockets can start at the end of June," says the German defense minister.
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| German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht. |
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Thursday that her country hopes to deliver missile launch systems to Ukraine "at the end of July" or "early August", after training the armed forces of the former Soviet republic. in the use of this weaponry since "the end of June".
"The training for these rockets can start at the end of June, in such a way that the delivery could be at the end of July, beginning of August", the policy has declared upon arrival at the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers that will take place. celebrate in Brussels.
The minister spoke in this way after Germany promised to deliver multiple launch rocket systems and guided ammunition to Kyiv, within the framework of the third meeting of the contact group in support of Ukraine, organized on Wednesday in Brussels.
"For Germany, it is always important to carry out this support in coordination with our allies. As we have done with the Netherlands, so we will do with the United Kingdom and the United States to deliver missile launch systems. There will be three of these systems with the corresponding rockets with the corresponding training," she said.
She recalled that Germany has made "a proposal on how we can strengthen NATO's eastern flank, with a reinforced presence" in Lithuania, where Berlin leads the battalion that the Alliance has deployed since 2017.
"In Germany, we are prepared to present a combat brigade. This area is not exempt from danger and we see this danger, but we are prepared to give this long-term support. Now it is about shaping this proposal, finding other allies to commit themselves and establish this fighting force as quickly as possible," she said.
Lambrecht has pointed out that "it is taken for granted that there will be troops on the ground."
"It is important that this signal is given and there must be additional supports so that they can be relocated quickly. This is agreed with my Lithuanian colleague and it is something that we will propose today," she transmitted, adding that with Lithuania "what possible and what doesn't make sense.
"It is taken for granted that through this multinational combat troop there will be a presence of brigades and that this presence can be quickly supported by sending more soldiers. It is the most important system, strengthening with presence and guarantee of very rapid support," has stated.
For his part, the Latvian Defense Minister, Artis Pabriks, has assured that if the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia had been reacted "correctly", the Russian annexation of Crimea would not have taken place in 2014.
“If we had acted correctly in 2014, there would not have been 2022. Will we act correctly now to avoid the next war? That is a great question and that basically means that we need the prepositioning of larger armed forces in countries like the Baltics”, has asserted.
She added that "there must be weapons, there must be Western economic power behind Ukraine because Ukraine must win and Russia must lose."
"There is no other way out of this. If it is different, we will simply invite Russia back to some kind of activity in the coming years," she said, saying that not responding to Moscow's aggression against its neighbors is how it is "provoked." by the Kremlin.
The Dutch head, Kasja Ollongren, has urged to continue cooperating with other states to "jointly find more ways to provide Ukraine with what they need" and has highlighted the importance of training Ukrainians in the use of weapons systems.
His French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, has highlighted the need to address the security system "in a global way" and has assured that Paris remains committed to the fight against terrorism in the Sahel. She also warned of the actions of the Russian Wagner military organization in that area.