Germany shields its arms supplies to Ukraine from public view
The new German government plans to keep its arms deliveries to Ukraine confidential, representing a notable shift from Berlin’s recent practice of openly detailing the scope and extent of its military support to Kyiv.
"In the future, the German government will significantly restrict communication regarding the delivery of weapon systems to Ukraine," reported the German agency dpa.
Germany will no longer reveal the weapons supporting Ukraine
As analysts from the Ukrainian service Defence Express point out, for the past three years (excluding the initial months after Russia's full-scale invasion), Germany has consistently provided information on the types and quantities of weapons it has been sending as aid to Ukraine.
The new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and his government's approach is characterised as a logical step. It seems to be part of a war strategy designed to "deny the aggressor any advantage in the war in Ukraine." According to Ukrainian analysts, the absence of detailed information on arms deliveries from one of Kyiv's largest allies "will compel the Russian Federation to make significantly more effort in evaluating the potential of Ukraine’s Defence Forces."
Will Taurus cruise missiles reach Ukraine secretly?
Another potential benefit of this approach may be the decrease in public pressure and debate over specific weapons. For example, Ukrainian analysts refer to Taurus cruise missiles, which Olaf Scholz repeatedly opposed transferring to Ukraine. During his election campaign, Friedrich Merz indicated that he would consider such a transfer.
Taurus cruise missiles are long-range weapons capable of striking targets up to 310 miles away. They are constructed with stealth technology and are fitted with approximately 1,102-pound MEPHISTO (Multi-Effect Penetrator, Highly Sophisticated and Target Optimised) warheads.
German weapons on the front
Despite earlier refusals concerning these missiles, Germany remains one of Kyiv’s largest allies. It has dispatched a significant amount of valuable equipment to the front, including heavy military hardware such as Leopard 1A5 tanks and the more modern Leopard 2A6 tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Gepard anti-aircraft guns, self-propelled PzH 2000 howitzers with a calibre of 155 mm, and the most valuable air defence systems – Patriot and IRIS-T with missiles.
