German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal's request for additional heavy weapons.
The German publication Welt learned about this from Ukrainian government circles.
It was, in particular, about the supply of the most modern Leopard 2 tanks to the German industry.
The basis for this was the offer from the arms group Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) dated April 8 regarding direct supply to Ukraine. At that time, the company had already agreed to supply Ukraine with 100 Leopard 2A7 tanks, including spare parts and training units for soldiers, for a total of 1.55 billion euros. Therefore, the first tanks could be delivered 36 months after the conclusion of the contract.
However, Scholz did not promise such deliveries, but rather remained "general and non-specific" in his conversation with Shmyhal. The chancellor has shown "absolutely no desire" to change his negative position on the supply of tanks, the publication's source said.
In response to Welt's request, the Sholce government said that they do not stop supporting Ukraine in military, political, financial and humanitarian terms.
"We ask for your understanding that we generally do not report confidential discussions," said a spokeswoman for the chancellor's office.
It will be recalled that Shmyhal, before his visit to Germany, called on the federal government to supply the Ukrainian military with battle tanks to repel Russian attacks.
During his visit to Berlin, he talked about the supply of weapons to Ukraine and with the President of Germany.
