Ukraine war: Diplomat Andrij Melnyk criticizes Merz

Berlin. Ukrainian diplomat Andrij Melnyk has criticized the new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz (CDU), for returning to secrecy regarding arms deliveries to Ukraine. "This brings back bad memories of the time when the "Ampel" government in spring 2022 tried to conceal the lack of military support with secrecy," the former ambassador to Germany told the German Press Agency.

Immediately after taking office, Merz, in consultation with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), decided to halt the publication of all arms deliveries to Ukraine. This marks a return to a secrecy practice that had existed under Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the first months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine from February to June 2022.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (standing) shakes hands with Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Source: IMAGO/Future Image

Merz sharply criticized this at the time as opposition leader. "We're being kept waiting, there are excuses, there are no precise details about what Germany is actually delivering. And the whole thing is then justified by the fact that it has to be kept secret for security reasons," he said in an interview with ntv and RTL in April 2022.

When asked what he would do differently if he were chancellor, Merz said at the time: "I would inform the public better." Keeping weapons transport routes secret was right. "But we have to inform the public about what is being delivered. We have to inform the public about why certain things have still been delivered. So the federal government is needlessly exposing itself to the suspicion that it is not keeping its promises."

Two months later, the Scholz government bowed to public pressure and published a detailed list of all arms deliveries online, which was regularly updated until the change of government on May 6. Melnyk, who will represent Ukraine as ambassador to the United Nations starting at the end of May, was ambassador to Germany at the beginning of the war and even then opposed the secrecy. "This delaying tactic was rightly heavily criticized, not only by Ukraine itself, but also by opposition leader Friedrich Merz," he says.

Even today, in this crucial phase of the war, it would be important for Ukrainian society to know which weapons are being delivered from Germany and how quickly. The publication of the arms deliveries would also send a strong signal to Russia and have a preventive effect, Melnyk believes. "Putin needs to know exactly what concrete military measures the new German government will take to force him to achieve a just and lasting peace."

Does the new secrecy tactic have anything to do with the debate over the delivery of the Taurus cruise missile? Pictured here: A Tornado IDS ASSTA 3.0 fighter jet equipped with the Taurus guided missile.

Source: Andrea Bienert/Bundeswehr/dpa

Merz's circle argues differently. They justify the reversal of secrecy by arguing that they want to create "strategic ambiguity." This means keeping the enemy in the dark about their own actions in order to prevent them from gaining military advantages. Reducing public debate about arms deliveries is part of the "tactics of warfare," they say.

There is now speculation about the extent to which the new secrecy tactic might have anything to do with the debate over a delivery of the Taurus cruise missiles, which Merz has promised to Ukraine. "One would hope that this new – very strange – line of secrecy might have nothing to do with Taurus," Melnyk says.

Merz, unlike in the past, already avoided questions about Taurus during his visit to Kyiv on Saturday. "Under my leadership, the debate about arms deliveries, calibers, weapon systems, and so on, will be removed from the public eye," he said in an interview with ntv and RTL.

RND/dpa