From 1966, the then chancellor Willy Brandt tried to ease relations with the communist neighbors to the east and with Moscow, with which Ostpolitik was born. The year 2023 will mark the end according to Bernard Hammelburg: ‘This is a huge step, these are the heaviest weapons. Many, Americans and Germans, find it difficult. This is the last piece they let go of that traditional Ostpolitik. This is the last step, there is no turning back.’
Western Division
The West is in an extremely difficult situation: whether to deliver heavy tanks to Kiev or not. Hammelburg also underlines the scale of the dilemma: “If you don’t, there is a chance that the Russians will profit from the spring offensive. Then you have made all your efforts for nothing.’ In short, then all previous military investments would have been in vain.
On the other hand, Ukraine is now equipped with the heaviest conventional weapons imaginable. Opponents of this point to the danger that Russia will see this as an existential threat to its territory, which will bring nuclear conflict closer. It is therefore a choice between two evils.
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Cheese slicer
The fact that Germany delayed the delivery of the Leopards for so long would initially be related to production: after all, it takes a year to build such a tank. That’s why a tolerance construction was chosen: there are around 2,300 Leopard tanks in operation across Europe. If German buyers went through their defense file with the cheese slicer, each country could supply a dozen tanks to Kiev, which could give the Ukrainians a hundred tanks.
And that’s what they need to deal with the expected Russian spring offensive. “And eventually it will.” Will the tanks arrive in time? ‘That’s a good question, because the tank is a complicated device. The advantage is that they come from the warehouse, they just need to be moved. Maybe they can already invite the Ukrainians to train, it could be soon.’
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