The federal government intends to hand over the promised Marder infantry fighting vehicle to Ukraine in the first three months of the new year.

It is about 40 of the weapon systems that a battalion can be equipped with, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Friday in Berlin.

According to experts, the training planned for Ukrainian soldiers in Germany will take about eight weeks.

The US side will also train Ukrainians on their Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.

Whether in the USA or in Germany is initially not known.

The United States and Germany have also promised Ukraine the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system and want to train Ukrainians on it.

Kühnert defends "long consideration"

According to SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (SPD) decision to deliver armored personnel carriers has nothing to do with pressure from coalition partners, the FDP and the Greens.

"I don't think the tweets of defense committee chairs and others are followed too closely in the White House or anywhere else," he said on Friday at an online discussion organized by the SPD on Epiphany.

Kühnert was alluding to the demands of Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), the chairwoman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, for the delivery of battle tanks and armored personnel carriers.

Scholz's decision has something to do with "political prudence and a long deliberation to find the right moment for such decisions," said Kühnert.

He was glad that the FDP chairman and finance minister Christian Lindner also assessed it as correct on Thursday that Scholz did not go it alone.

The Chancellor's decision was made "in close consultation with our international partners" - including French President Emmanuel Macron.

In a telephone call with US President Joe Biden on Thursday, Scholz agreed to jointly deliver armored personnel carriers to the war zone.

Ukraine has been demanding the delivery of main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers for many months.

Hofreiter: Must deliver main battle tanks

The Greens European politician Anton Hofreiter then also demanded the delivery of battle tanks.

"I would like, as the main manufacturing country of Leopard 2, that we start a European initiative for the delivery of Leopard 2 and see together with Europe what we can deliver to Ukraine so that they can liberate the occupied territories," said Hofreiter on Friday in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”.

The strategy must be that Ukraine is supported with everything it needs on the battlefield and that includes a lot more.

The chairman of the Bundestag European Committee dismissed the danger that Germany would become a party to the war as a result.

"The clearer we support Ukraine and the clearer we signal to Putin that we will not let up with this support, the higher the chance that this war will end," said the Green politician.

Hofreiter described the decision to deliver several dozen Marder infantry fighting vehicles as "very, very late".

“If these tanks had been delivered earlier, fewer Ukrainian soldiers would have died.

You have to say that very clearly, ”said the Green politician.

The opposition is also demanding decisions on the supply of Leopard tanks.

"We see that the Ukrainian soldiers simply need these weapons for self-defense," said the head of the CSU state group in the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, to RTL / ntv. It must now also be decided on the further steps.

Military Expert: Supplies not critical to the war

Military expert Carlo Masala welcomes the planned delivery of more heavy weapons to Ukraine by Germany, France and the US.

"That's a right decision," said the political scientist from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich to the "RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland" (Friday).

However, he also criticized the late timing.

Masala stressed that the "talk" that Russian President Vladimir Putin would escalate the war if certain weapons systems were delivered is now off the table for good.

“It also opens the door for other arms shipments.

In two months we might be talking about combat aircraft and battle tanks.” However, Masala admitted that the deliveries were not decisive for the war.

"But it facilitates Ukrainian counter-offensives in the east and south."

Also Patriot system is supposed to go to Ukraine

In addition to the Marder tanks, Germany also wants to provide Ukraine with a Patriot anti-aircraft battery for air defense.

The inspector of the Air Force, Ingo Gerhartz, wants to speed things up.

"Sending Patriot to the Ukraine with training of Ukrainian soldiers as soon as possible, simultaneous deployment in Poland and Slovakia means a tour de force for our troops.

But it has to be in these special times!” the Air Force quoted the Lieutenant General on Twitter on Friday.

Poland has welcomed the planned disposal of the anti-aircraft system.

Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau wrote on Twitter on Friday night that he was pleased to note this step.

"This decision is consistent with what Poland had already proposed at the end of November." At that time, the government in Warsaw had made the suggestion that Germany should prefer to relocate several Patriot systems offered to Poland to Ukraine.

This had caused severe resentment in Berlin.