Kiev may be disappointed with the supply of heavy weapons promised to it by Germany, since Berlin will have to overcome various hurdles before delivering many of the items, resulting in likely delays, the German version of Business Insider reported.
The offer of the IRIS-T SL air defense system, touted by Chancellor Olaf Scholz as one of the most advanced in the German arsenal, reportedly came as a surprise to his own defense ministry. It said it had none in its stockpile, so Ukraine would have to get them directly from the producer, Diehl.
According to BI sources, the proposed delivery would require Germany to snub Egypt, which ordered several IRIS-T SLs and will have to let Ukraine jump the line. Regardless, Ukraine will only be able to get them by the end of the year at best.
The German arms package for Ukraine also includes a three-way deal with Greece, which is to get German Marder infantry fighting vehicles in exchange for delivering Soviet-made versions to Ukraine.
The Greeks were reportedly surprised by Scholz’s announcement of the scheme. The Soviet vehicles are in use on islands and their replacement with more modern German hardware may be perceived as an escalation by Turkey, BI said.
Athens also wants to have the entire order of 50 Marders delivered before relinquishing their old machines to Ukraine, the report said. The shipments from Germany may take as long as till winter.