By Oliver Towfigh Nia
BERLIN (AA) – Germany and the US will supply Ukraine with armored personnel carriers for its war against Russia, German public broadcaster ARD reported Friday.
The announcement came following a phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden on Thursday, according to a chancellery statement.
Berlin will also provide Ukraine with a Patriot anti-aircraft battery for air defense.
More specifically, Germany is to supply the Ukrainian armed forces with the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, which was developed more than 50 years ago for the German army, while the US will send Bradley combat tanks.
These are the first Western-style armored personnel carriers to be received by Ukraine. It is not known when and how many of the tanks will be sent to the warring country.
The Hamburg-based news magazine Der Spiegel reported that up to 40 Marder light tanks would be delivered to Ukraine.
So far, Eastern European NATO countries have only sent Soviet-made battle tanks to the war zone. However, Ukraine has already received anti-aircraft, armored transport and armored recovery vehicles from Western manufacturers.
Reacting to the plan to send Marder light tanks to Ukraine, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck described the planned delivery as a good decision.
"Since the beginning of the war, we have increasingly expanded our support in cooperation with our partners. It is logical that we are also taking this step," he said.
"Ukraine has the right to defend itself against the Russian attack and we have a duty to help it," he added.
Germany has supplied Ukraine with weapons and military equipment worth €2.25 billion since the war began on Feb. 24, including self-propelled howitzers (heavy artillery pieces), Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, and the Iris-T anti-aircraft system, which can protect an entire city.
Ukraine has also pressed Germany to send Leopard 2 combat tanks, however Scholz has so far refused to supply them on the grounds that no other NATO country has made such tanks available.