Former German chancellor Merkel vetoed NATO attempts to arm Ukraine against possible Russian invasion, nationalpost.com

Angela Merkel blocked the U.S. from selling arms to Ukraine to defend itself against a possible Russian invasion, it has emerged.

Details published in German media appear to confirm Ukrainian claims that Merkel’s government effectively vetoed NATO allies from supplying weapons to Kyiv. Under the former chancellor, Germany twice intervened to stop the U.S. and Lithuania from delivering weapons that Ukraine had already paid for through a NATO procurement scheme.

Ukraine is racing to upgrade its military capabilities amid U.S. warnings a Russian invasion may be imminent, and has turned to bilateral deals with allies including the U.K. as it seeks to get around the German veto on any sales through NATO. Merkel’s government continued to block the U.S. from supplying rifles until she stood down last week, according to details published by Bild.

“They are still building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and at the same time blocking our defensive weapons. It is very unfair,” Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukrainian defence minister, told the Financial Times at the weekend. […]

Germany had a longstanding and publicly declared policy of blocking arms sales to Ukraine over concerns it could inflame tensions or provide a pretext for Russian aggression. Läs artikel