Fact Sheet On German Military Aid To Ukraine

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

Contrary to popular perception, Germany has delivered significant amounts of arms and equipment to Ukraine to aid the country in its fight against the Russian military. In fact, the volume of arms deliveries by Berlin exceeds that of every other country safe for the United States and the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, Germany has faced severe criticism and even mockery for its perceived lack of support to Ukraine and its ill-fated attempts to keep its relationship with Moscow intact. While ultimately positioning itself as a reliable partner of Ukraine, it can be argued that Berlin's communication to affirm its Ukraine stance and explain foreign policy goals has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster.

German materiel support already delivered to Ukraine includes fifteen Gepard SPAAGs, three M270 MLRS, ten PzH 2000 self-propelled guns (SPGs) along with guided artillery rounds, 3200 man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS), close to 10.000 Panzerfaust 3 and RWG 90 MATADOR anti-tank weapons, hundreds of vehicles, nearly 22 million rounds of ammunition and a plethora of other equipment including 28.000 helmets and MiG-29 spare parts. These deliveries are soon to be followed by a further 15 Gepard SPAAGs, one IRIS-T SLM SAM battery, 20 laser-guided rocket systems, 43 reconnaissance UAVs and up to 20 unmanned ships. Berlin also contributed at least €2 billion to Ukraine's security capacity building fund with which the Ukrainian government can purchase armament from other countries, including a further 100 PzH 2000s from German arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. [1] [2]

Germany has also attempted to entice other countries to send their heavy weaponry to Ukraine in a programme known as 'Ringtausch' ('exchange'). Under this policy, countries can receive German armament free of charge in exchange for delivering tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) from own stocks to Ukraine. Although a promising scheme at first, the 'Ringtausch' programme has largely failed to live up to expectations as most countries expect to have their Soviet-era systems replaced by larger numbers of modern weapon systems than what Berlin is currently able (or willing) to offer. Czechia is to receive fourteen Leopard 2A4s and one Büffel armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) while Slovakia is similarly set to receive fifteen Leopard 2A4s along with a munitions, training, and logistics package in exchange for providing Ukraine with 30 BVP-1 IFVs. [3] [4]

Harsh criticism has also been directed at the delivery time of some of the arms pledged by Germany, especially for the time it would take to ready three M270 MLRS and send them to Ukraine. In fact, it is precisely because Berlin opted to go ahead with the expensive conversion required that it got scoffed at in the media and by observers of the conflict. In the meantime France, which stores more than 40 227mm M270 MLRS, decided not to make the same effort, and as a result was spared similar public indignation. [5] Another underappreciated area has been Germany's deliveries of medical supplies and support that although not liable to attract much attention are crucial at keeping Ukraine and its soldiers in the fight. Though the composition of future aid can only be guessed at, Germany has the potential to scale up its extensive support even further through the hundreds of Leopard 1A5s, Marder 1A3 IFVs and M113 Panzermörser self-propelled mortars currently stored by the German MoD and defence companies Rheinmetall and FFG which Berlin has so far refrained from delivering. [6]

The M270 Mittleres Artillerieraketensystem (MARS) MLRS.

The following list attempts to keep track of military equipment delivered or pledged to Ukraine by Germany during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. This list is mostly based on information released by the German Bundesregierung. [7] The entries below are sorted by armament category (with a flag denoting the country of origin). In case the month of delivery is unknown, the delivery date is listed as 2022. This list will be updated as further military support is declared or uncovered.

Medical supplies for the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not included in this list but are listed here.

* Purchases by the German government from defence companies.

** Purchases by Ukraine.

(Click on the equipment type to get a picture of them when available)

Delivered

Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns (15)

15 Gepards* [Training started in June 2022. Delivered from July 2022 onwards]

Multiple Rocket Launchers (3)

3 227mm M270 ''MARS'' [July 2022]

Self-Propelled Artillery (10)

10 155mm PzH 2000s [April 2022. Training completed in May 2022. Arrived to Ukraine in June (7) and July 2022 (3)] (Delivered along with 10.500 155mm rounds)

Armoured Fighting Vehicles (54)

54 M113G3DK/G4DKs [July and August 2022] (M113s taken from Danish stocks and subsequently overhauled with German funding)

Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (3200)

500 FIM-92 Stingers [March 2022]
2700 9K32 Strela-2s [March 2022] (Former East German stocks)

Anti-Tank Weapons (23.800)

900 Panzerfaust 3 RPGs [2022] (Delivered along with 3000 DM72A1 (PzF 3-IT) and 50 DM32 Bunkerfaust rounds)
7.944 RGW 90 Matador RPGs** [Delivered from March 2022 onwards]
14.900 DM31 And PARM DM22 Anti-Tank Mines [2022]

Anti-Drone Systems (28)

10 Anti-Drone Guns* [2022]
14 Anti-Drone Sensors And Jammers* [2022]
12 Electronic Anti-Drone Devices* [2022]

Jammers (9)

2 Large Anti-Drone Jamming Systems* (Installed on HMMWV IMVs) [August 2022]
7 Radio Jammers* [August 2022]

Radars (8)

8 Ground Surveillance Radars* (Installed on HMMWV IMVs) [August 2022]

Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Vectors** [June 2022]

Engineering Vehicles And Equipment (13)

3 Bergepanzer 2 Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs)* [August 2022]
4 Remote Controlled Mine Clearance Systems* [August 2022]
6 HEP 70 Mobile Decontamination Vehicles [August 2022]

Vehicles (390)

30 Armoured Volkswagen Amarok SUVs [2022]
280 All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), Minibuses And Trucks [2022]
80 Pick-Up Trucks [2022]

Small Arms (100)

100 MG 3 General-Purpose Machine Guns [2022] (Delivered along with 500 spare barrels and breechlocks)

Ammunition

Ammunition For The 227mm M270 ''MARS'' MLRS [July 2022]
53.000 Rounds Of 35mm Ammunition For Gepard SPAAG [Delivered from June 2022 onwards]
4000 Rounds Of 35mm Practice Ammunition For Gepard SPAAG [August 2022]
10.500 155mm Artillery Rounds For PzH 2000 SPG [Delivered from June 2022 onwards]
SMArt 155 Guided Artillery Rounds For PzH 2000 SPG [Delivered from June 2022 onwards]
3 Million Rounds Of 5.56×45mm Ammunition [2022]
5 Million Rounds Of 7.62×51mm Ammunition [2022]
14 Million Rounds Of Small Arms Ammunition [2022]
100.000 DM51/DM51A2 Hand Grenades [2022]
3000 DM72A1 (PzF 3-IT) For Panzerfaust 3 [2022]
50 DM32 Bunkerfaust Rounds For Panzerfaust 3 [2022]
(Artillery) Ammunition [March and April 2022]
5300 Explosive Charges [2022]
100.000 Metres Detonating Cord [2022] (Delivered along with 450.000 detonators)

Military Gear

28.000 Helmets [2022]
15 Palettes Worth Of Military Clothing (Including 1300 Bulletproof Vests) [2022]
16 Palettes Worth Of Materiel For Explosive Ordnance Disposal [2022]

Miscellaneous Equipment

MiG-29 Fighter Jet Spare Parts [2022]
M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun Spare Parts [2022]
38 Laser-Range Finders [2022]
20 Laser-Designators [2022]
353 Night Vision Goggles [2022]
165 Field Glasses [2022]
125 Binoculars [2022]
600 Safety Glasses [2022]
1 High Frequency Unit [August 2022]
1 Radio Frequency System [2022]
3000 Field Telephones [2022] (Delivered along with 5000 cable reels)
100 Tents [2022]
10.000 Sleeping Bags [2022]
12 Generators [2022]
403.000 Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) [2022]
Diesel And Gasoline [2022. Supplies ongoing]
10 Tonnes Of AdBlue [2022]

To Be Delivered

Surface-To-Air Missile (SAM) Systems (1 Battery)

1 IRIS-T SLM Battery* [To be delivered in December 2022]

Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns (15)

15 Gepards* [Training started in June 2022. Delivered from July 2022 onwards]

Laser-Guided Rocket Systems

20 70mm Laser-Guided Rocket Launchers On Pick-Up Trucks [To be delivered]

Self-Propelled Artillery (100)

100 155mm PzH 2000s (Purchased by Ukraine from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann through the security capacity building fund)

Anti-Tank Weapons (5000)

5.032 Man-Portable Anti-Tank Weapons [To be delivered]

Anti-Drone Systems (24)

24 Anti-Drone Systems* [2022] (Including 40 Frequency Range Extension Devices)

Radars And Jammers

1 Cobra Counter-Battery Radar System* [To be delivered]
8 Mobile Ground Surveillance Radars And Thermal Imaging Cameras* [To Be Delivered]
12 Communications Electronic Scanner/Jammer Systems* [To Be Delivered]

Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

43 Reconnaissance Drones* [To Be Delivered]

(Unmanned) Ships

10(+10 Option) Autonomous Surface Vessels* [To Be Delivered]

Engineering Vehicles And Equipment (28)

12 Bergepanzer 2 Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs)* [To Be Delivered]
16 Brückenlegepanzer Biber Bridgelayers [To Be Delivered]

Vehicles

14 HX81 Heavy Equipment and Tank Transporters* [To Be Delivered]
12 Oshkosh M1070 Heavy Equipment and Tank Transporters* [To Be Delivered]
10 Protected Vehicles* [To Be Delivered]
80 Pickup Trucks* [To Be Delivered]
200 Trucks* [To Be Delivered]
2 Tractors Along With 4 Trailers [To Be Delivered]
6 Lift Trucks [To Be Delivered]

Small Arms (30)

30 MG 3 General-Purpose Machine Guns [To Be Delivered]

Ammunition

4.592 Rounds of 40mm Ammunition For Automatic Grenade Launchers [To Be Delivered]
255 Volcano Guided Artillery Rounds For PzH 2000 SPG [To Be Delivered]
4592 155mm Artillery Rounds For PzH 2000 SPG [To Be Delivered]