Kyiv accuses Berlin of blocking weapons supplies to Ukraine
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov accused Germany of blocking arms shipments to Ukraine through NATO's Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), even after Berlin had been warned by Washington about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Reznikov said that Berlin had vetoed Ukraine's purchase of anti-drone weapons and anti-sniper systems through NSPA over the past month.
"They are still building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and at the same time blocking our defense weapons. It's very unfair," Reznikov in an interview with the Financial Times.
The minister said that Ukraine will try to acquire weapons through bilateral agreements with the United States, Britain, Lithuania and France.
Reznikov also warned that the strategy of "not provoking Russia" would not work.
"Not provoking Russia – this strategy does not work and will not work," he said, recalling that Moscow invaded Georgia after Berlin and Paris blocked the country's path to NATO membership in 2008.
According to Reznikov, Moscow's red line against Ukraine's accession to NATO was only part of Russia's multilayered tactics against the alliance.
"I believe the U.S. has understood these threats. They must preserve the unity of the Alliance," the minister added.
Earlier, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk said that Germany refused to supply weapons to Ukraine because of “a pathological fear of Russian President Vladimir Putin”.