Contents tagged with Germany

  • Investigation reveals influential German journalist received funding from Russia to promote Putin's image

    German journalist Hubert Seipel, who conducted interviews with Putin and wrote two books about him, has admitted to receiving "financial support" in the hundreds of thousands of euros from a Russian oligarch without disclosing it. The series of articles about this were published by Der Spiegel.

    Seipel, who had regularly participated in talk shows and interviews as a "Putin expert," had previously denied allegations of receiving money from the Kremlin. In a 2021 interview, when asked about it, …

  • Ukraine secures contract with Germany’s Rheinmetall for leopard 1 tanks and support vehicles

    The Ukrainian government has signed a contract with the German company Rheinmetall for the delivery of Leopard 1 tanks, according to Rheinmetall’s press service. It is specified that a total of 32 armored vehicles will be supplied, including 25 main battle tanks Leopard 1A5, five recovery vehicles (Bergepanzer 2), and two training tanks for drivers. "The order, financed by the German government and valued in the upper double-digit million euro range, also includes training, logistics, spare …

  • Ukraine and German defense conglomerate Rheinmetall establish joint venture to service western equipment

    Ukrainian Defense Industry PLC and leading German defense conglomerate Rheinmetall have established a joint venture, reported Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal on his Telegram channel.

    Rheinmetall-Ukrainian Defense Industry LLC will provide repair and maintenance services for Western equipment, noted Shmygal. The opening of the new company took place at the 6th German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin.

    "The joint venture will carry out the servicing and repair of equipment supplied to …

  • German company ships ammunition production machine to Russia despite sanctions

    A Spinner machine, used for manufacturing ammunition, is on its way from Turkey to Russia, reports the Trap Aggressor project of the analytical center StateWatch.

    The machine has been ordered by the Joint Stock Company "Serovsky Mechanical Plant," a Russian military-industrial company that produces artillery shells and their casings, and is part of the Russian defense holding Rostec. Among other things, the plant manufactures casings for 152mm shells for the self-propelled artillery system …

  • German Defense Minister: decision on supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine expected within two weeks

    German authorities may make a decision on supplying Ukraine with Taurus long-range  missiles within one to two weeks, reported Tagesschau, citing German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.

    "If it takes a week or two for the decision to be made, then so be it," he said at the first Westphalian Peace Conference in Münster.

    Pistorius assured that this does not indicate any doubts from the federal government's side.

    "Germany must demonstrate such caution, even if it is difficult for our Ukrainian …

  • German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall buys 50 Leopard-1 tanks from Belgium for shipment to Ukraine

    The German defense concern Rheinmetall has bought 50 Leopard-1 tanks from Belgium, reports the newspaper Handelsblatt, citing its sources.

    Rheinmetall reportedly purchased Leopard 1 tanks from Belgium to re-equip them and ship about 30 of them to Ukraine.

    According to the newspaper, Rheinmetall initially wanted to buy Leopard tanks from the Swiss defense company Ruag. However, Switzerland did not issue an export license in accordance with its neutrality law, and Rheinmetall had to look for …

  • Kyiv asks Berlin to triple the number of Leopard tanks supplied to Ukraine

    Kyiv asks Germany for even more tanks. "First of all, the Ukrainian army needs a much larger number of Western tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles," said Andriy Melnyk, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister and former ambassador to Germany, in an interview with Der Tagesspiegel.

    He explained that due to the loss of some transferred weapons in battles, "each Leopard 2 is literally worth its weight in gold for the decisive offensive" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According …

  • Germany to provide its biggest military aid package to Ukraine

    Germany is preparing the largest military aid package to Ukraine so far in the amount of almost 2.7 billion euros. It will include Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Leopard 1 tanks, Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, IRIS-T SLM air defense systems with ammunition and other types of heavy equipment, said the German Defense Ministry.

    According to Der Spiegel, this package was agreed recently during secret negotiations between the ministries and the Federal Chancellery. The emphasis is on …

  • Germany confirms delivery of second IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine

    Germany has officially confirmed the delivery of the second Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine.

    In addition to this air defense system, Germany has delivered eight more Zetros trucks manufactured by Mercedes-Benz, which are designed for operation in extreme off-road conditions. In total, the Ukrainian military has already received 84 such vehicles.

    Germany also delivered two 8x6 trucks with eight auto-loader units.

    Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov …

  • Germany to send another shipment of Leopard tanks to Ukraine

    Germany will begin the delivery of several dozen Leopard tanks of the 1A5 modification to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the middle of the year, said in an interview with La Vanguardia German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

    Pistorius noted that Berlin kept its promise and in March delivered over 18 modern Leopard 2A6 and 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, as well as other military aid packages, including the necessary spare parts and ammunition.

    "The delivery of the Leopard 1A5 battle …