Exactly one week ago, at the first meeting of the UDCG jointly led by Germany and the UK, Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius pledged a new comprehensive military aid package to support Ukraine.
According to the press release published by the Ministry of Defence last Friday, the package includes 4 IRIS-T fire units including 300 missiles, 300 reconnaissance drones, 120 MANPADS, 25 Marder IFVs, 15 Leopard 1A5 MBTs, 14 artillery systems, 100 ground surveillance radars, 30 MIM-104 Patriot missiles and around 100,000 artillery shells.
Actually an enormously important package to support the Ukrainian army, especially because the listed weapons systems and ammunition are all to be delivered this year according to the Ministry of Defence.
But now things are changing! Yesterday evening, the Ministry of Defence apparently felt compelled to change large parts of the online communication regarding the package. After editing, it is clear that a significant proportion of the new weapon systems and ammunition announced in the package had long been publicly promised or will not be delivered as originally pledged.
A real communication disaster in my eyes!
A closer look at the new version reveals that only one of the four IRIS-T fire units originally announced in Brussels can actually be delivered to the Ukrainian army this year. The other three fire units included in the package will not find their way to Ukraine until 2026 or later.
In addition, the Ministry of Defence is trying to clarify in the corrected version that the other three fire units promised for this year are fire units that the MoD announced three weeks ago during the visit of the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, Rustem Umerov.
But even that is only half the truth. Although the statement is fundamentally correct, their delivery in 2025 was first announced in August 2024 at a government press conference, while the actual conclusion of the contract dates back much further.
Accordingly, it can be assumed that also a large proportion of the 300 newly announced IRIS-T and IRIS-T SL missiles cannot be delivered until 2026 or later.
The 25 Marder IFVs and 15 Leopard 1A5 MBTs included in the package also appear to have been incorrectly presented as new assistance.
For example, 20 of the 25 infantry fighting vehicles were already publicly announced by Rheinmetall in December 2024 and added to the German government’s official list of military support for Ukraine in the same month.
A further five vehicles were added in mid-January, meaning that the 25 infantry fighting vehicles announced last Friday have already been known to the public for around three months.
This is also confirmed by the fact that yesterday all the weapons systems and ammunition included in the package were added to the list of military assistance for Ukraine – with the exception of the infantry fighting vehicles, main battle tanks and artillery systems.
To summarise, it can be said that, despite official announcements, there will be no main battle tanks, no infantry fighting vehicles and only a single IRIS-T SLM fire unit, in which two additional IRIS-T SLS launchers are integrated, in addition to the weapon systems already promised for this year.
Strictly speaking, the additional 100,000 artillery shells were also already known, as the Ministry of Defence announced on the 3rd of April after the informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Warsaw that around 500,000 artillery shells would be delivered to Ukraine this year. As recently as February it was reported on “Nachgefragt” that 370,000 artillery shells would be delivered.
Nevertheless, the latest military aid package does include some essential support scheduled for delivery in 2025.
For example, it was revealed yesterday that the 300 reconnaissance drones announced are a total of 316 Vector drones manufactured by the German defence company Quantum Systems. Already a year ago, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence asked for additional systems to be financed and delivered for 2025. This request has now been granted.
In addition, the 30 Patriot missiles from Bundeswehr stocks will provide urgently needed relief — even if only for a short time.
The 1,100 ground surveillance radars, which were initially only on the cards, have already been added to the federal government’s official list, which suggests that a funding commitment has now been made.
What led to such a serious communication faux pas, which affected not only the online communication but also Pistorius’ press statement in Brussels, was not disclosed. One can only hope that such mistakes will not be repeated.
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