Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Melnik called on Germany to help boost his country's naval capabilities, and suggested handing over a decommissioned submarine and frigate to his country.
Germany recently agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 combat tanks to Ukraine, and finally succumbed to months of pressure from the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Berlin has also allowed other countries that possess German-made tanks to deliver them to Ukraine.
Melnik said - in a tweet via Twitter - "A month ago, Germany stopped the Lubeck frigate, after a 32-year service, and with political will, that frigate can be transferred to Ukraine to fight Russian submarines and warships in the Black Sea."
"If the entire warship is not transferred, sending its weapons - such as Sea Sparrow and Harpoon missiles - will strengthen our Ukrainian forces," he added.
In another separate tweet, Melnik called on Germany to give Ukraine one of its six HDW Class 212A submarines, saying, "Why doesn't Berlin send one to Ukraine?"
Dear German friends, a comment on 🇩🇪SUBMARINES.
It is not wishful thinking, but my personal experience.
As consul-general in Hamburg, I was on board U 212A at marine base Eckernförde in 2008. Really huge!
One admiral told me: you just need ONE sub to keep🇷🇺Black Sea fleet in check pic.twitter.com/rwI8xUS3Rp
— Andrij Melnyk (@MelnykAndrij) January 29, 2023
He later tweeted, "He had experience on board such a submarine in 2008, during his tenure as the Consul General of Ukraine in Germany."
Germany - despite providing weapons to Kyiv - is seeking to confirm that it is not a party to the war.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed, "It is a war between Russia and Ukraine. Nothing will change in that through the fact that we provided Ukraine with financial and humanitarian aid and supplied it with weapons."
Melnik's demands come after Kyiv announced that it is seeking to obtain more Western weapons, as the advisor to the Ukrainian presidency, Mikhail Podolyak, said that his country is negotiating with its partners regarding the provision of aircraft and long-range missiles as soon as possible to protect the armored vehicles that were provided to it.
Yesterday, Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country wanted to obtain long-range American missiles "ATACMS", which can bypass the front lines and reach Russia itself.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Colonel Yuri Ihnat, said that his country needs American "F-16" fighters to replace its "worn out" Russian air fleet, and that it needs at least 25 combat aircraft.