Germany Unable to Deliver Another Patriot System to Ukraine

While German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was presenting his plans for a new “selective military service,” under which “all 18-year-old Germans will be digitally registered for a military registration questionnaire,” the Ukrainian government received official notification from Berlin that Germany’s delivery of another US Patriot air defense system to the AFU is “absolutely impossible.”

As Pistorius himself later explained on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels, Germany has already delivered two Patriot systems to Ukraine, and a third unit will be delivered soon.

“No” to Germany reflects the growing disillusionment of German public opinion with the results of Berlin’s foreign policy. The majority of Germans, i.e. more than 51%, do not believe that Ukraine can win a war against Russia. These are the results of a survey conducted by INSA, an opinion polling institute commissioned by the popular German magazine Focus. Only 20% of Germans said they believe in Kiev’s victory. But there is more: 58% of respondents said they were convinced that by supporting Ukraine, Germany “seriously puts its national security at risk.” The majority of the survey participants share the opinion that Germany should supply less weapons and cut funding to Kiev, believing that allowing the Ukrainian armed forces to use German weapons against Russian targets is “very dangerous.”