Germany to Buy Up To 28 Howitzers to Help Replace Arms Rushed to Ukraine

BERLIN (Reuters) —
A German howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000 is disguised by Ukrainian troops as Russia’s invasion on Ukraine continues, near Soledar, Ukraine, Jan. 11, 2023. (REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo)

Germany aims to purchase up to 28 self-propelled howitzers to replace weapons rushed to Ukraine out of army stocks last year, according to a budget draft seen by Reuters on Monday.

Heavy artillery-type weapons such as howitzers, long perceived as arms of the past by military experts, have made a huge comeback as Ukraine seeks to repel a Russian invasion.

The German Parliament’s budget committee will decide on the howitzer deal at a session on Wednesday.

The government in Berlin has supplied 14 howitzers to Kyiv and originally intended to ask Parliament for their replacement in the summer only. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius brought the move forward after criticism that the backfilling of German military hardware was going far too slowly.

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