Germany halts arms shipments to Ukraine, will provide training and maintenance instead
Germany faces criticism at home and abroad for lackluster support to Ukraine
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Germany said it has maxed out its ability to send arms to Ukraine on Wednesday and instead pledged to provide training to Ukrainian forces and maintain its military equipment.
"While other partners supply artillery, we will help with training and maintenance," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said during a press conference.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, April 7, 2022. NATO foreign ministers are meeting to discuss how to bolster their support to Ukraine, including by supplying weapons to the conflict-torn country, without being drawn into a wider war with Russia. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
UKRAINE MARINE COMMANDER MAKES LAST-DITCH PLEA FOR EVACUATION FROM MARIUPOL
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Baerbock renewed Germany’s support for Baltic states in a three-day trip to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania but reportedly claimed that Germany’s armed services have said it "can no longer supply weapons from its own reserves."
Germany will look to continue helping the war effort by providing spare parts, reported Interfax.
German leadership has faced repeated criticism at home and abroad for its hesitancy to send significant support to Ukraine, notoriously offering up 5,000 helmets in the lead up to the invasion.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Though Baerbock claimed Wednesday that Berlin has delivered anti-tank weaponry and Stingers without publicly announcing it.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attempted to counter criticisms Tuesday over Berlin’s decision not to provide more advanced equipment to Kyiv as Ukraine prepares for another major offensive in its eastern regions.
FILE - Ukrainian servicemen study a Sweden shoulder-launched weapon system Carl Gustaf M4 during a training session on the near Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Marienko, File)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Ukraine continues to have our full solidarity and support. At the same time as heads of state and government it’s our duty to prevent the war from spreading to other countries," he said during a press conference. "Therefore NATO does not want to and cannot intervene directly in the war."
Scholz said Germany will continue to provide defensive aid where it can but alleged its equipment stocks are maxed out.
The German chancellor engaged in talks with top allies like the U.S., officials from the EU and NATO, along with France, the U.K. and Canada Tuesday to discuss continued support for Ukraine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ukrainian soldiers of the 103rd Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces, fire their weapons, during a training exercise, at an undisclosed location, near Lviv, western Ukraine, Tuesday, March 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
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Germany will reportedly work with other nations on increasing their defensive aid and getting soviet-era arms to Ukraine as its forces are already trained on this form of weaponry.
Scholz said that Berlin, along with its western allies, agreed Tuesday that it only made sense to send Ukraine arms that it could immediately deploy without further training.