Following recent military successes in the northeast of the country, Ukraine's government has criticised Germany for hesitating to deliver much-needed tanks despite promising in March to provide Ukraine with heavy weapons.
"There have been no tanks for six months because there is no political decision on delivery," presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter. German hesitation allowed Russia to continue its "terror" and Ukrainians died, he said. "Germany, we are waiting for your promise."
In the Ukrainian version of the Twitter post, Podolyak also directly mentioned the so-called "ring exchange" system, through which former Eastern Bloc states surrendered their old stock of Soviet weapons to Ukraine and, in return, receive modern equipment from Germany. "The ring exchange system is not working," he said.
In its recent offensive in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian army used T-72 tanks supplied by Poland, among other things.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, and then took control of large swathes of the east and south of the country. Since the beginning of September, however, Ukrainian forces have been able to recapture significant areas.
