Scholz promises German weapons will arrive in time for Donbass battle

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has vowed that the German weapons requested by Ukraine for its fight against Russian forces will arrive in time.
Germany has faced sometimes stinging criticism from the leadership in Kiev over the pace of weapons deliveries, as well as the type of weapons that have been delivered.
Ukraine has repeatedly called for German attack tanks and jets to be sent from army supplies, but such equipment has not been sent by Berlin. Germany has authorized the delivery of anti-aircraft tanks.
Asked in an exclusive interview with dpa whether the heavy weaponry will "arrive in time to make a difference in the Donbass," Scholz replied: "It will arrive in time."
He pointed out that the priority for who gets German weapons first had to be changed.
"You know there is a long list of customers already that are waiting for getting them in two years and three years," he said, meaning that the protocol for delivery has had to be changed in order for Ukraine to receive them faster. "They are working now to make it happen," he added.
"The concrete things we can deliver now will be delivered after the training ... without the training you cannot use these weapons."
"We will deliver an anti-ballistic system which is able to save Odessa or Kiev," he said. "We also decided together with the UK and the United States that we will deliver multiple rocket launchers."
The comments were made as the sprawling Azot chemical plant in the heavily embattled city of Severodonetsk has been almost completely destroyed by Russian missiles, the Ukrainian military said on Friday, amid fears over the fate of civilians sheltering at the site.
The governor of the eastern Ukrainian province of Luhansk, Serhii Haidai, said that Ukrainian forces are continuing to offer resistance to the weeks-long Russian onslaught.
Luhansk and Donetsk together make up the Donbass, where Russia is now focusing its fire.
According to Kiev, a major Russian assault on the strategically important city of Sloviansk, to the west of Severodonetsk, has failed for now.
The attempt to seize a municipality about 20 kilometres north of Sloviansk was successfully repelled, the general staff said.
The Ukrainian general staff also stated that Russia launched further airstrikes in Donetsk province and heavy artillery bombardment in the south of Ukraine, at the border of the provinces of Kherson and Mykolaiv, where Ukrainians also launched several airstrikes on Russian outposts.
The Ukrainian navy, meanwhile, said it had severely damaged a Russian tugboat carrying weapons and supplies in the Black Sea.
It is not possible to verify these claims independently.
As the fighting rages on, diplomatic efforts continued to support Ukraine.
The European Commission recommended that Ukraine and Moldova become official candidates for European Union membership, a step Kiev has pushed for since the invasion began.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made his second surprise visit to Kiev since the invasion began, to a warm welcome by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Meanwhile, Putin has once again justified the war by saying Russia had had no alternative.
"In the current situation, against the backdrop of increasing risks and threats to us, Russia's decision to conduct a special military operation was ... coerced and necessary," Putin said at the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg on Friday.
The West had previously "literally pumped up Ukraine with its weapons and its military advisers," the head of the Kremlin said.
Putin went on to say, "The decision is aimed at protecting our citizens and the residents of the people's republics in the Donbass, who were subjected to eight years of genocide by the Kiev regime."
Putin recognized the People's Republic of Donetsk and People's Republic of Luhansk - unilaterally declared by Russian separatists - as independent states shortly before he invaded.
Putin also reminded the world of his country's nuclear arsenal, while denying he had plans to deploy any of it. "We are not threatening anything. But everyone should know what we have and what we will use, if necessary, to protect our sovereignty."
In Russia, speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine is to be criminalized as scepticism about the war is particularly strong among the business elite and oligarch community.
"Migration applications suggest that 15,000 Russian millionaires are likely already attempting to leave the country," the British Ministry of Defence said in its daily report.
Addressing Russians who were ashamed of the war in Ukraine, Putin said: "You know, there are those who are ashamed who don't connect their fate and their lives, the lives of their children, with our country."
Meanwhile over 5.7 million Ukrainians have fled to the EU since Moscow's invasion began, according to an update by the EU border control agency Frontex on Friday.
However, some 2.8 million Ukrainians have returned to Ukraine from the EU, with the numbers stabilizing in recent weeks.