Mary Dejevsky

5,000 helmets and Germany’s dark history in Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers (photo: Getty)

If anyone produces a ‘history in 100 objects’ for the first half of the 21st century, one of those objects could well be a German helmet from the consignment of 5,000 dispatched to Ukraine, as the Russians seemed about to invade. The donation was noteworthy because it was met not with gratitude but with ridicule, not only from Ukrainians on social media – will it be pillows or duvets next time? – but from Germans themselves.

There were reasons, of course, why the Germans sent helmets, while the British made great play of airlifting 2,000 shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles and the Americans sent Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-air missiles, as part of 80 tonnes of what was described as ‘lethal aid’. Initially, in fact, Germany had said that it would send nothing in the way of equipment, defensive or otherwise, citing a law banning the supply of weapons that could find their way to conflict zones. But after being criticised for not doing its bit for Ukraine in its hour of need, Berlin relented and the helmets were packed and shipped.

Underlying the criticism was the widespread feeling that something more than the statutory ban lay behind Germany’s reluctance to send anything remotely warlike to Ukraine. Despite its protestations to the contrary, Germany has long been seen by some in Nato, including the United States, as not pulling its weight within the alliance, either in terms of its financial contribution – which, at 1.57 per cent of GDP last year, still falls well below the prescribed 2 per cent – or in terms of its contribution to combat operations in the past.

In Afghanistan, for instance, Germany set limitations on its deployments, which confined its troops mostly to the more peaceful north and elsewhere to mostly logistical and non-combat operations, leading to criticism that they were enjoying something of a cushy number.





Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in