The German government has sent to the Armed forces of Ukraine (AFU) armoured infantry vehicles, almost useless during combat operations, because of the low cost. This was reported by the Bild newspaper.
“They are unsuitable for deployment on the front line and use at the front. The reason is that their armour is too weak,” the Bild publication said.
The newspaper pointed out that the German government decided to hand them over to the Kiev authorities because of their low cost and faster delivery time. Unlike the BMPs in service with the Bundeswehr, the vehicles delivered to Ukraine do not have armour capable of withstanding artillery, rocket and mortar fire.
“If it turns out that Ukraine was only supplied with a lightly armoured version, it will be a huge scandal. Savings were made at the cost of lives,” Bild quoted Carlo Masala, a professor at the German Armed Forces University in Munich and a military expert, as saying.
A Ukrainian official, on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that Kiev certainly “would have wanted vehicles with mine-protection” but “the German side did not offer them.”
Bild has familiarised itself with the documents, where the price per unit of this equipment ranges from 185,000 to 208,000 euros. According to the German Defence Ministry, Berlin paid 600 thousand euros for one armoured vehicle.
According to Bundestag deputy, expert of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on defence and foreign policy Roderich Kiesewetter, if it turns out that low-quality armoured vehicles were purchased and delivered to Kiev almost three times more expensive than the market price, it will be a double problem.
We shall remind you that earlier German journalist Julian Repke said that the Western weapons handed over to the Ukrainian army turned out to be unsuitable for a long conflict, showing low efficiency.