While the American Congress has been torn apart for several months over the question of financing aid to Ukraine, arms deliveries continue to crystallize tensions among kyiv’s allies. And at the end of the year, it is in Germany that the tone has risen, leading to a national standoff.
For several weeks, a conflict has pitted the mayor of Troisdorf, a town of some 80,000 inhabitants, against the arms giant Diehl Defense, whose local factory produces the ignition devices needed for large quantities of explosives, such as only rockets and missile charges. Parts used in the manufacture of the Iris-T air defense system, three of which were delivered by the German government to Ukraine.
The municipal council is winding down
With a view to expanding its production, Diehl Defense has been eyeing land put up for sale by the former arms company Dynamit Nobel for several months. Located in the city center, the location is ideal, and the space is large enough: around fifty football fields. But the German manufacturer recently faced a refusal from the municipality.
A wide range of city councilors, from conservative Mayor Alexander Biber to Green environmentalists and the far-left Die Linke – around two-thirds of the council – refused to sacrifice such a large area in the city center, preferring to allocate this space for the installation of housing, offices and businesses. Especially since the production of explosives and combat devices requires enormous protection zones around the factory which cannot be built for security reasons.
But for Thomas Bodenmueller, member of the board of directors of Diehl Defense, the argument does not hold up. “By calling into question the Troisdorf site, the defense capacity of the Federal Republic of Germany is compromised,” he complains.
The Minister of Defense takes up the matter
Accused of having delayed the project, the mayor of Troisdorf was called to account before the members of the Bundenstag. The message comes from the top of the State. From Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. A sign that the issues go far beyond German internal affairs.
And for good reason, Berlin is committed alongside the Twenty-Seven to intensify deliveries of artillery shells essential to Ukraine to face the Russian army. One million shells are to be delivered to kyiv by spring 2024, including 300,000 to 400,000 from Germany. In any case, this is what the European Union solidarity plan provides.
It must be said that the emergency is at its height. The Ukrainian army’s reserves are dwindling as the conflict drags on. In mid-November, noting the insufficiency of European production, Boris Pistorius faced the facts. The European Union will fail to supply Ukraine with a million artillery shells and missiles by next March.
During December, while Troisdorf stood firm on its refusal to expand arms production, the Minister of Defense once again sounded the alarm. “Pressure […] is great because in Europe and in Germany there is a real bottleneck on munitions”, he declared to the deputies. For Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, president of the Defense Committee of the Bundestag, the position of the mayor of Troisdorf “is simply irresponsible”. And for good reason, in times of war more than ever, railways and tides do not wait.