Germany’s vice-chancellor has spoken out against his country delivering fighter jets to Ukraine, saying such a move would “probably” be a step too far for western allies weighing up support for Kyiv’s cause against fears of being drawn into an outright war.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/feb/01/russia-ukraine-war-live-zelenskiy-signals-reforms-ahead-of-eu-summit-in-kyiv-netanyahu-open-to-mediator-role-if-asked

 

Philip Oltermann reports for the Guardian from Berlin:

 

Germany’s vice-chancellor has spoken out against his country delivering fighter jets to Ukraine, saying such a move would “probably” be a step too far for western allies weighing up support for Kyiv’s cause against fears of being drawn into an outright war.

 

Robert Habeck, deputy to chancellor Olaf Scholz and Germany’s minister for economic affairs, was an early supporter of his government supporting Ukraine with German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks, and defended the decision in a talk show on Tuesday night.

 

However, he said, “there is a difference between battle tanks and fighter jets”, echoing Scholz’s caution about making promises regarding such equipment.

 

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, meanwhile, said that there had been no official demand from Kyiv to Berlin to provide fighter jets from Germany, despite some voices in Kyiv calling for warplanes. “We didn’t put any request to Germany about fighter jets yet,” Makeiev said.