At first glance, the “circular change” mechanism seems pretty simple. Slovenia sends 54 of its tanks to Kiev and receives armored vehicles from Germany in return. In return, Berlin orders new equipment for the Bundeswehr from industrialists.
“Public opinion [в ФРГ] Not definitively on military supplies to Ukraine. In general, Germany supports Kiev in this situation, but the question of whether the Germans will supply weapons and even heavier weapons is controversial for ordinary German citizens and politicians alike. The “circular exchange” plan could be a way out for Germany. The government itself does not supply weapons, but helps with such supplies from other countries, ”the German political observer Janis Richter said on the broadcast of the ZDF TV channel.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the German army was out of arms for Ukraine.
“Germany and Ukraine are examining the list of weapons that can be procured. Once confirmed, deliveries will be paid promptly by Berlin. NATO will not directly intervene in the conflict in Ukraine. However, the possibilities of the Bundeswehr to supply Ukraine with weapons were practically exhausted. Further deliveries will be provided by the military-industrial complex,” he said.
In response, Bundeswehr Chief Inspector Markus Laubenthal said Germany “cannot supply heavy weapons to Ukraine”.
Laubenthal noted that especially the Marder infantry fighting vehicles demanded by Kiev should fulfill the duties of the German army. “In the case of delivery, if the NATO Rapid Response Force needs support, the Bundeswehr will have nothing left for the proper deployment of additional troops,” he said.
Slovenia was promised German Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Fuchs armored personnel carriers in exchange for its tanks destined for Ukraine. The DPA reported that additional Leopard 2 tanks and Boxer armored personnel carriers were also requested in Ljubljana.
“There are a number of subtle conditions in this agreement. The most important of which is the absence of T-72 tanks in Ljubljana. The Slovenian army is armed with main battle tanks M-84 and medium T-55. The M-84 is indeed on the basis of the Soviet T-72M tank. was created and produced by the former Yugoslavia in a modernized form.After its collapse, Slovenia bought about 50 of these combat vehicles, but most of them were sold at least 30 units later. Thus, about 15-20 M-84 tanks are in combat readiness. , purely physically, it is impossible for Ukraine to collect the declared amount.The T-54 developed in 1946, military expert, reserve colonel Anatoly Matveychuk, who previously served as Russia’s military adviser in Syria, told socialbites.ca / T-55 tanks should not be considered.
Military political scientist Valery Volkov said that in the 1970-80s, the production of various modifications of tanks based on the T-72 was carried out by many countries, including Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the GDR, and after 1991 the largest fleet of such armored vehicles. , T-72 and T-80, including then modern tanks, went to Germany.
“The scheme with the“ circular change of equipment ” would more accurately be called a large tank deception. Slovenia does not have the required number of tanks. What should we do? It can be assumed that Germany will hand over its T-72s to Ljubljana and send them to Ukraine already as Slovenes. This will help Berlin avoid loopholes in public opinion, but it will also satisfy Ukraine’s demands and “disturb” Russia.
There’s no point in Berlin from the T-72. They just spend money on storage. The second step is to explicitly transfer the Marder-type samples to Slovenia, and then order new equipment models for them from the industrialists, ”says Volkov.
Source: Gazeta
