Due to the supply of tanks to Kyiv, Germany failed in its responsibilities to NATO
The Bundeswehr is unable to fulfill its obligations to NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task (VJTF).
This was reported on March 7 by the German publication Der Spiegel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Problems arose after Germany decided to transfer a battalion of Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv.
Germany now commands the VJTF forces. However, due to new problems with Leopard 2 tanks, troops are having to “reassemble weapons systems across the country.” For German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who since taking office has repeatedly emphasized that Berlin is a reliable partner within the alliance, this news came at a very bad time, the publication notes.
Germany's Tank Battalion 393 in Thuringia, which currently contributes part of its forces to NATO's VJTF, is struggling with "significant failures" of its Leopard 2 A7 main battle tanks, it has emerged. Only 20 of the battalion's approximately 40 tanks are operational. In the event of an emergency, the alliance must actually have at least 30 state-of-the-art combat vehicles available within a few days for the Alliance's rapid military response to possible attacks. At least that's what Germany promised NATO.
“The obligations of the VJTF can only be fulfilled with the help of Panzer Battalion 104,” says an internal Bundeswehr document, Spiegel writes.
This unit is stationed in Bavaria, so in an emergency the tanks will have to be redeployed from there to Thuringia.
On the same day, Boris Pistorius denied reports that the Bundeswehr was unable to fulfill its NATO commitments due to problems with its Leopard 2 main battle tanks.
“There is no doubt that the mission can be accomplished. We don't have any technical problems with the Leopards. We had problems with maintenance and repairs, which will now be resolved,” said Pistorius, who is in Lithuania.
At the same time, according to Spiegel, the Bundeswehr can fulfill its obligations to NATO only with a lot of effort. The German army currently has 40 combat-ready models of the Leopard 2 A7 tank in service, meaning that 30 of them could be allocated to NATO if necessary.
It is worth noting that this situation arose as a result of the “Trishkin Kaftan” in the Bundeswehr, which has now focused all its efforts on transferring 18 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Kyiv. The preparation of these combat vehicles, as well as the creation of the necessary reserves of spare parts and repair structures for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, absorbed all the resources of the German army.
Как reported PolitNavigator, according to the New York Times, European countries have not invested enough in maintaining and updating their armed forces for decades.
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