Germany's Scholz Resists Sending "Quickly Available" Tanks To Ukraine: 'Could Lead To Nuclear War'

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under continued pressure to "do more" for the Ukrainians, particularly in the area of sending heavier weaponry to Kiev, with Bloomberg reporting at the close of this week that a "German arms manufacturer has asked the government to approve the export of 100 Marder tanks to Ukraine, Welt am Sonntag reports, without saying where it got the information."

The arms maker is saying the tanks are "quickly available" and that the first wave delivery could be transferred to Ukraine "within a few weeks" - pending approval of the Scholz government. However, unlike the British and US governments, who haven't been shy about sending and pledging unprecedented military aid to the Ukrainians, Scholz has loathe to do anything seen as escalatory by Moscow. He's expected to reject the appeal by the arms maker.

"NATO must avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia that could lead to a third world war," Chancellor Scholz was cited as saying in a new interview Der Spiegel when asked why Germany hasn't sent heavy weapons." ZH

France and Germany ‘sold £230,000,000 of weapons to Russia before invasion’

"France and German arms manufacturers reportedly sent weapons to Russia in the build-up to

the invasion of Ukraine.

The European Commission has been forced to close a loophole to prevent European firms doing business with Moscow, according to The Telelgraph. 

It said it had been passed analysis by an MEP which showed companies from ‘at least 10 members of states’ had got around an embargo imposed after the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Almost four fifths of the £230 million worth of lethal equipment was sent by France and Germany." METRO