BERLIN/VILNIUS (dpa-AFX) - A shortage of spare parts and damage caused by repair attempts by the Ukrainians: only very few of the modern Leopard 2A6 battle tanks supplied by Germany are still in use in the defensive battle against Russia - which is why the Green Party's budget minister Sebastian Schäfer is calling for faster steps to make them operational again. The expert on the defense budget visited the industry's repair workshop ("hub") in Lithuania together with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius before Christmas.

At the turn of the year, he now writes to the defense companies involved, Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW): "Unfortunately, it must be noted that only a very small number of the battle tanks delivered can still be used by Ukraine." The letters were obtained by the German Press Agency in Berlin.

After a long delay, the German government handed over a total of 18 Leopard 2 tanks from the Bundeswehr's inventory to Ukraine in March. The delivery is part of the aid against the Russian attack. The vehicles have now suffered battle damage, but some have also suffered considerable technical wear from driving and firing.

The hope that the modern main battle tanks would enable the Ukrainians to form focal points of attack in such a way that the heavily built-up Russian lines could be penetrated has not yet been fulfilled. In some cases, the Ukrainians have used the tanks differently than Western military planners had expected.

Repair work after deployment on the front is now taking longer than necessary. "Repairing the systems takes a very long time because, according to information in the hub, there is a shortage of suitable spare parts, among other things. In my view, there seems to be an urgent need for action here to improve the spare parts situation quickly," writes Schäfer. "There is also apparently a problem in that the Ukrainian army sometimes attempts to repair the tanks, which then leads to further damage to the battle tanks. The extent to which this can be prevented through better training of mechanics or the provision of instructions needs to be examined."

The question also arises as to why the lengthy transportation of the defective tanks to Lithuania is still necessary. The maintenance center there is part of Lithuania Defense Services (LDS), the Lithuanian joint venture between KMW and Rheinmetall. Schäfer writes to Rheinmetall: "According to your company, the supply of the first "Marder" systems has now begun in Lviv. In my opinion, it would be urgently necessary to create the possibility of repairing the more complex Leopard II systems in Ukraine as well."

However, Lithuania has proven to be a reliable partner for politicians and the military in Germany in recent years. On the other hand, both Poland and Slovakia have had problems with military cooperation projects for the repair of weapon systems for Ukraine. However, the long transport route across Poland has to be overcome for repairs in the Baltic states.

Schäfer is calling for aid for Ukraine not to slacken, but to be prepared for an expansion. "The situation in Ukraine is very difficult," the Green politician told dpa. "We must also be prepared for the fact that support from the United States is waning." The fact that Germany provides the most support after the USA unfortunately only applies in nominal terms. In relation to economic output, Germany is "only a distant second".

"That has to change," he demands. What is needed is "finally the delivery of long-range Taurus cruise missiles from Bundeswehr stocks". The aim is to put Ukraine in a stronger position against Putin's troops./cn/DP/zb