Germany on Saturday lifted the embargo on offensive weapons it had imposed, allowing 400 RPG launchers to be sent from the Netherlands to Ukraine.
“The approval has been confirmed by the chancellor,” said a spokesman for the German defense ministry. RPGs come from German army stockpiles.
According to Politico’s David Herszenhorn, this could signal a major shift in European military aid.
Berlin had refused to issue licenses for the export of weapons of German origin to Kiev, controlling even the third countries that had bought them.
Estonia wanted to send weapons to Ukraine, but because Germany had sold them to Finland, from which Estonia had bought them, Germany had a veto.
Many other NATO allies, including Britain and Poland, have also agreed to export weapons directly to Ukraine, but the German government has refused to do so.
The United States has also given permission to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to send US-made missiles and other weapons to Ukraine.
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