Germany approves export of 400 RPGs from Netherlands to Ukraine

Germany has approved the delivery of 400 RPGs from the Netherlands to Ukraine, the defence ministry in Berlin said, confirming a shift in policy after Berlin faced criticism for refusing to send weapons to Kyiv, unlike other Western allies.

"The approval has been confirmed by the chancellery," a spokesman for the defence ministry said on Saturday. The RPGs come from stocks of the German military.

Germany has a long-standing policy of not exporting weapons to war zones, rooted partly in its bloody 20th-century history and resulting pacifism. Countries aiming to onpass German weapons exports need to apply for approval in Berlin first.