Germany Allows Ukraine to use German Weapons on Russian Territory

12 August, 2024 The Canadian Leopard 2A4CAN is at the disposal of the 33rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. August 2024. Ukraine.

Frame from the video Ukrainian Witness According to German Defense Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz, once the weapons are transferred to Ukraine, they become the property of Ukraine and can be used as Kyiv sees fit. Collatz emphasized that international law allows military operations on the territory of an aggressor country for self-defense, and there are no special conditions for using weapons provided by the Bundeswehr.

The Defense Ministry does not question the legality of actions on Russian territory: International law provides for the possibility of conducting military operations on the territory of an aggressor country to protect one's own state, Collatz said. According to him, this does not imply any special conditions for the use of weapons provided by the Bundeswehr. "After handing the German weapons to Ukraine, they already belong to Ukraine, they are Ukrainian weapons...

There are no obstacles, so Ukraine is free to use them as it decides," the officer said, adding that Ukraine is obliged to comply with international law.

Arne Collatz. Photo credits: www.kn-online.de

Collatz clarified that the use of long-range weapons is a different, political issue, but this is not the case. The deputy spokesman of the Federal Government, Wolfgang Buchner, said that Berlin is intensively consulting with its closest allies and with the government in Kyiv regarding the "specific weapons systems" used by Ukraine.

The deputy spokesperson did not give an assessment of the events in the Kursk region, noting that the military situation is constantly changing, and that "contradictory and sometimes deliberately falsified news is coming from the scene." The Ukrainian Defense Forces are armed with a large number of different German-made equipment and weapons. Ukrainian forces are actively using Leopard 2 and Leopard 1 tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

Marder IFV of the 225 of the Assault Battalion.

Summer of 2024. Ukraine. Frame from the unit's video

The German government also actively supplied the Ukrainian military with infantry weapons and equipment.

In July, it became known that the German government was considering purchasing the Norwegian NOMADS air defense system for the needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.