Germany 'getting ready for the worst case' over Russian gas

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Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Germany increased its defence spending to 2 percent of its GDP and set up a special €100 billion fund to upgrade its military. Now, according to the Jerusalem Post, Olaf Scholz’s government has agreed to buy the powerful Arrow-3 missile defence system from Israel.

The head of the German Air Force Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz said: “The Iron Dome is used for short-range threat and we have quite a capable industry back home and we will procure systems for that.

“And for higher interceptors, we have the Patriot weapons system that we will modernise.

“If it means [threats at a range of ] 15,000km and then it is exoatmospheric we don’t have anything and that is why I had a close look at the Arrow 3 and we are really interested in the system.”

The purchase of the system “starts with the approval of Israel and the United States and they gave us the approval,” Gerhartz said.

He continued: “They gave us the approval that we can cooperate on it. But, we still have to talk about the details.”

The news comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address a United Nations Security Council meeting convened by Britain amid growing outrage over Russian atrocities.

The UK, which currently holds the council’s presidency, said it wants to discuss the “mounting evidence of war crimes” on Tuesday and will push to ensure “justice is done”.

Evidence apparently showing Vladimir Putin’s soldiers deliberately killing civilians has been emerging as he withdraws his struggling troops from around the capital Kyiv, including from the city of Bucha.

Mr Zelensky has warned that worse evidence of mass killings of civilians by Moscow will emerge as the Russian president repositions his troops to the south-east.

It will be his first address to the Security Council, with members including Russia and China, and comes a day after he visited Bucha to witness the fall-out.

The Ukrainian leader accused Moscow of committing “real genocide”, as he appeared visibly emotional, flanked by his soldiers and wearing a bullet-proof vest.

READ MORE: Ukrainian troops recover ‘treasure trove’ after ambushing Russians

Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the office of the President of Ukraine, said Mr Zelensky “will give all the evidence” to the international community at the Security Council meeting.

“If these awful atrocities will not change the agenda of all the world, what will change?” the adviser asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Mr Zhovkva said Ukraine needs “additional weapons”, including tanks and missiles, to “liberate more cities” from Russia control.

Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain’s UN ambassador, called images coming from Bucha “harrowing, appalling, probable evidence of war crimes and possibly a genocide”.

She cited hundreds of bodies being dumped in the streets or in mass graves and allegations of rape.

Also on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss met Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki during the second day of her visit to the capital, Warsaw.

“We share a strong security and defence relationship, and are determined to step up our efforts to make sure Putin fails,” she said.

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Ms Truss has called for Russia to be hit with the “maximum level” of sanctions and for more weapons to be supplied to Mr Zelensky’s forces to help repel the Kremlin’s troops.

“The idea that we should wait for something else bad to happen is just completely wrong,” she said, applying pressure to allies.

“The reality is that money is still flowing from the West into Putin’s war machine – and that has to stop.”

She pressed for a “clear timetable” to eliminate imports of Russian oil, gas and gold, and for a further crackdown on industries financing Moscow’s invasion.

Mr Morawiecki has criticised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for focusing on the “voices of German businesses” rather than the innocents killed in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is likely to urge Germany to set a date for phasing out Russian gas when he meets Mr Scholz in Downing Street on Friday.

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