Germany to send MARS II rocket launchers and Dingo armored vehicles to Ukraine

Europe, News September 16, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced on September 15, 2022, that Germany’s next weapons delivery to Ukraine would consist of multiple rocket launchers and the requested Dingo armored vehicles.

According to Lambrecht, Germany plans to send two multiple rocket launching systems along with 200 rockets. The military aid would also include at least 50 Dingo armored vehicles.

“We have decided to deliver two more MARS II multiple rocket launchers including 200 rockets to Ukraine,” Lambrecht said during a press conference. “On top of this, we will send 50 Dingo armored personnel carriers to Ukraine,” she added. German defense ministry would also provide training to the Ukrainian forces which would allow them to operate the MARS II multiple rocket launcher systems.

Dingo is a general defense armored transport vehicle that the German military used extensively during NATO military operations in Afghanistan for patrol and reconnaissance.

German military's Dingo ATF armored vehicle. — *^{German military’s Dingo ATF armored vehicle. (Image Credit: Flickr/via Ukrainian Military Center)}*

Initially, Germany refused to provide the Dingo armored vehicles to Ukraine upon its request, however, after facing some criticism from the western media, the defense ministry confirmed that Germany would send 50 units of its Dingo armored vehicles. The German armed forces, Bundeswehr, have more than 500 units of the Dingo Armored vehicles.

Lambrecht also announced that Germany is facilitating a swap deal between Greece and Ukraine which is almost complete. If the deal is successful, Germany would soon hand over 40 Marder Infantry fighting vehicles to Greece. In return, Greece would pass on 40 of its Soviet-built BMP-1 Infantry fighting vehicle to Ukraine.

Germany has been criticized for not providing enough weapons to Ukraine despite repeated requests. Ukraine had called on Germany to send their latest Leopards tanks and Marder armored vehicles, however, Germany was reluctant to send its latest defense technology to Ukraine.

The pressure grew further when Ukraine started its counter-offensive attacks on Russian forces in an attempt to recapture its lands in the northeastern region. After the initial hesitation, Germany has now been more frequently sending the latest weapons to Ukraine. However, Germany still sends its weapons supplies to Ukraine in coordination with its other regional allies and in arrangements similar to the one that they made with Greece. Germany has pledged to send more than $500 million worth of weapons deliveries to Ukraine by 2023.

While there have been many speculations about Germany’s reluctance to send weapons directly to Ukraine against Russia, some experts believe that one of the main reasons is that Germany does not want to get involved directly in an unpleasant military conflict and escalate its scuffle with Russia, given the rough past between the two countries.