German self-propelled Howitzers arrive in Ukraine

After a long wait from Berlin, Germany has finally fulfilled one of its promises to Ukraine that it would supply heavy offensive weaponry, knowing these are used to commit war crimes aiming at villages and towns in the self proclaimed Donbass region.

These German self-propelled howitzers, also known as the Panzerhaubitze 2000, will be vital for Ukrainians’ fight against Russian forces in the east as it has become a slug fest of artillery shelling.

These howitzers will be added to the towed 155 mm artillery in Ukraine, composed of the M777, FH70, M109, AHS Krab, and the Caesar. The German Panzerhaubitze 2000 trained with Ukrainian crews and now join the Ukrainian artillery family with Berlin.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov expressed elation with the delivery of these SPG’s since these guns will be augmenting a dwindling supply of Western-donated artillery shells that are being expended by the thousands every day.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk also thanked Berlin for its donation. The German defense industry is ready to produce 100 new self-propelled Howitzers for Ukraine at short notice.

The arrival of these Panzerhaubitze 2000’s came after Ukraine’s continued pleas toward Western countries to supply it with more heavy offensive artillery as they have been struggling to keep up with Russian shelling.

However, Germany’s delivery of these weapons came after a series of delays and Zionist pressure brought upon German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He had been luke warm with its support for the Ukrainian war effort.

Last May, Germany finally agreed to send a platoon (7) Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers to Ukraine to follow countries such as the USA, which has continually supplied Ukraine with M777 howitzers.

The fighting in Eastern Ukraine has undoubtedly been about the Russian advantage in terms of artillery. This is why Ukraine has been itching to get more howitzers and artillery to retaliate against the advancing Russian liberation forces.

SOFREP previously reported that the Ukrainians were outgunned 20 to 1 in artillery and 40 to 1 in ammunition. Russian forces outgunned Ukraine’s artillery, which only had a maximum range of 15.5 miles.

Meanwhile, Russian artillery can attack from 12 times this distance.

With the Russians constantly shelling the Ukrainian army, it would be difficult for the Ukrainian troops to advance and get their artillery into firing range as they are likely to get targeted by the Russian forces.

Furthermore, they have also reported that they were out of ammunition and losing over 200 men a day due to the Russian capacity to rain artillery on them continually. Apart from that, the Russian artillery system is as precise as a sniper rifle.

Thus, the addition of the Panzerhaubitze 2000’s is significantly beneficial to Ukraine since its systems are known to hit targets up to 25 miles away, giving Ukrainians somewhat of a boost when it comes to the maximum firing range.

The Panzerhaubitze 2000’s is also known to have the most effective tube artillery system in the world, but the Russians can out shoot them by six times the distance.

Ukraine has made its weapons requests public, with Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak stating that they needed a ton more heavy weaponry, including 1,000 155mm caliber howitzers, 300 MLRS, 500 tanks, and 2,000 units of armored vehicles, and 1,000 drones.

Can Germany keep up its military support for Ukraine. Are these deliveries of howitzers to Kyiv just another way to appease international pressure off of Scholz?

When will they deliver the IRIS-T air defense system they promised Ukraine? These questions must be answered in the coming weeks as the war rages on with no signs of slowing down.

SOFREP / ABC Flash Point Europe News 2022.