The German government has approved the supply of Leopard 1 main battle tanks to Ukraine. A total of 88 tanks from the Rheinmetall Group and 99 tanks from Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft have been approved for export, Business Insider reported.
It is noted that the official figures will be released on Tuesday.
At the same time, the publication’s sources in the German government say, funding for tank repairs has not yet been secured. It should be definitively clarified only in the next few weeks.
In addition, the first tanks are not expected to be delivered until the middle of this year. The exact number of them has not yet been established, insiders say, it also depends on funding. It is also unclear whether all 187 Leopard 1s will eventually be combat-ready, or whether many of the tanks will have to be used as spare parts depots.
Furthermore, private conversations within the government also point out that the military and strategic significance of tank delivery is not so much in the vehicles themselves, but in the change in the ammunition used. The Leopard tanks use the NATO standard 105mm caliber, which means a much better supply of ammunition for Ukraine, as it cannot produce ammunition for its old Soviet tanks itself. In the long run, this could increase the resilience of the Ukrainian army.
The German government has allocated funds for eco-modernization of Ukrainian enterprises under the Best Available Technologies and Management Methods (BATM) for Ukraine program, which provides for co-financing of several BATM implementation projects by businesses up to EUR2 million each, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilec said.
“We understand that we must make considerable efforts to obtain financial instruments to restore our economic sustainability. And it is important to carry out this renewal with technologies that will be less harmful to the environment,” said Strilets, who was quoted in a release from the ministry with reference to his speech at a national telethon on Thursday.
He specified that the documents for participation in the program are open and the projects will be selected till February 28, 2023.
At the same time, the minister noted that the Ministry of Environment together with the people’s deputies finalized the necessary framework law № 6004-d, which would outline the framework of ecomodernization and reconstruction of enterprises on the best available technologies and enable to attract funds of international technical assistance for the realization of such projects.
The minister expressed confidence that the experience of implementation of this program would be a qualitative beginning of cooperation with other European partners.
He cited data from the Kiev School of Economics, according to which since the war in Ukraine at least 412 enterprises have been damaged or destroyed, of which 64 are large and medium-sized.
As for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine as a whole, according to Strilz, there is indeed a clear understanding at the highest political level of Ukraine that its reconstruction should be green and using the best available technologies, and the European Green Deal, which Ukraine joined back in 2020, could be the basis for the post-war “green” development of the country.
In his opinion, this is not only an opportunity for Ukraine to contribute to the global fight against climate change, but also to solve the problems that arose after February 24, 2022.
“After all, no one will argue that it is important for us to develop green energy, because our energy security and the energy security of Europe depend on it. It is important for us that every destroyed house is rebuilt according to new standards, and every kindergarten, school and other social facility is built according to modern energy-saving technologies. Today we are taking steps to attract investment in such projects, “- said the head of the Ministry of Environment.
According to information on the site of German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), it implements the project “The best available technologies and methods of management (LDTIM) for Ukraine” on the behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of Germany (BMUV) and will help Ukrainian enterprises to implement these technologies and reduce industrial emissions. The political partner of the LDTIM project in the implementation of industrial pollution reform is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Ukraine.
According to the conditions of participation in the project, grants in the amount of 20% of total costs for implementation of the LDTIM project are provided as co-funding, but no more than EUR2 million for one project, within the limits of available funds of the program.
80% of the grant is to be paid in installments according to the enterprise’s equipment/services procurement plan, and 20% is to be paid after the final audit.
More than 244,000 people applied for asylum in Germany last year, with citizens of Syria topping the list, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
The agency notes that according to German statistics, citizens of Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq followed the Syrians in the list.
In addition, more than a million citizens of Ukraine arrived in the country, but they do not have to apply for asylum, because they immediately receive a temporary residence permit.
Berlin notes that in 2022 the number of refugees increased by 27.9% compared to 2021, especially in the last three months of 2022.
German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said the government is trying to integrate refugees as quickly as possible in the life of the new place, for this purpose, German language lessons are held, and many other measures are taken. At the same time, she noted that German authorities are trying to do everything possible to deport from the country as soon as possible those who have been denied asylum.
German engineering company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann has begun production of RCH 155 self-propelled artillery units for Ukraine, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann advisor Nicholas Drummond said in a tweet.
“Sometimes combining two proven solutions into a new concept can be revolutionary, avoiding significant risk. Production of the Boxer RCH-155 for Ukraine has begun,” Drummond wrote.
In December, the German government officially confirmed that it was preparing 18 units of the latest RCH 155 wheeled units for Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov made the request to Germany in July 2022.
The unit is operated by a two-man crew. The ammunition is 30 rounds. The manufacturer claims a range of 40 km and 52 km with V-LAP rounds.
European stock indices rose on Wednesday thanks to positive statistical data and forecasts from Germany as well as corporate news.
The Stoxx Europe 600 composite index of the region’s largest companies rose 0.8 percent to 427.51 points as of 11:30 a.m. The indicator ends 2022 with a decline of about 13% – the maximum since 2018, due to the negative impact of the situation in Ukraine, as well as the energy crisis on corporate profits and the economy as a whole, Bloomberg notes.
“We are facing a slowdown in economic growth, if not a recession, and we don’t see that factor being built into corporate earnings forecasts yet,” UBS Private Wealth Management financial adviser Sarah Poncheck said on Bloomberg TV.
Germany’s DAX stock index gained 0.76% in trading, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.91%, Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.44%, Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.68% and Spain’s IBEX 35 gained 0.55%.
Data from research firm GfK, released Wednesday, showed improved consumer sentiment in Germany. The leading indicator assessing consumer confidence prospects for January 2023 rose to minus 37.8 points from minus 40.1 points in December. The index has been rising for three months in a row thanks to measures taken by the German authorities to reduce energy costs for residents, GfK noted.
“It is clear that the steps taken by the German authorities to limit energy prices are having an effect. However, it is too early to say that all the problems are over. The improvement in consumer sentiment that we are seeing at the moment remains fragile,” said GfK consumer sector expert Rolf Bürkl.
“The German Employment Barometer, calculated by the Ifo economic institute, shows a positive outlook for the German labor market in the first quarter of next year. This is mainly due to improvements in the service sector, whose workers are optimistic about the near future, the Ifo said Wednesday.
Stock prices of European sports goods manufacturers rose on Wednesday thanks to stronger-than-expected reports from U.S. competitor Nike Inc. Shares of Adidas AG jumped 7.7%, Puma SE rose 8.5% and British sporting goods retailer JD Sports gained 6.7%.
Uniper SE shares rose 5.9% after the European Commission approved a stabilization package providing, in particular, to increase the capital of the energy company by 8 billion euros.
Among the leaders of growth in Germany were the shares of online retailer Zalando (+4.5%), real estate company Vonovia (+2.6%) and Deutsche Post (+1.3%).
In Britain, Prudential Plc (+1.5%), Shell (+0.9%), Diageo (+0.8%) gained strongly, in France – TotalEnergies SE (+1.6%), L’Oreal (+1.4%), Schneider Electric (+1.3%).
The German government through the Reconstruction Credit Institution (KfW) will lend EUR32.5 million to Ukrenergo to restore eight high-voltage substations in the south and west of Ukraine, the company said.
According to its Facebook post on Friday, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and NEC Board Chairman Volodymyr Kudrytsky signed the relevant agreements with KfW. This is NEC’s third project with the German state bank KfW, through which its government is providing financial support to Ukrenergo.
“These funds will already be working in the interests of Ukrainian consumers in the near future: equipment will be installed at the substations that will make it possible to control their work remotely from the central dispatcher’s office. The restored substations will be automated, require minimal staff and meet ENTSO-E requirements for reliability of the power transmission system and grid safety,” explained Ukrenergo.
The company expressed its sincere gratitude to its European partners for their timely assistance, which is very much needed today.
For its part, the Ministry of Finance said on its website that its head during a meeting with Anka Feldhusen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Ukraine, signed a guarantee agreement with KfW for the new project “Increasing the Efficiency of Power Transmission (Substation Modernization) II”, and Ukrenergo head signed a loan agreement with KfW for EUR32.5 million for this project.
During the meeting there were also signed agreements on debt deferral between the government of Ukraine and KfW, the Ministry of Finance pointed out.
According to its report, an agreement was reached to postpone repayment of Ukraine’s debt under the attracted loans from KfW under the four existing projects from 2022-2023 to 2027-2031.
