Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has called on Germany to send one or more of its submarines and possibly even a decommissioned frigate to Ukraine to “kick the Russian fleet out of the Black Sea.”
In a series of tweets Saturday and Sunday, Melnyk – Ukraine’s former ambassador to Germany, outlined why Berlin should send its U-boats to the warzone.
“Germany (ThyssenKrupp) produces one of the world’s best submarines,” Melnyk wrote, referring to the Type 212A diesel-electric attack sub made by German steel and defense giant ThyssenKrupp AG. “The Bundeswehr has 6 such U-boats. Why not send one to Ukraine?” he asked.
“It is not wishful thinking, but my PERSONAL experience. As consul-general in Hamburg, I was on board [a] U-212A at marine base Eckernforde in 2008. Really huge! One admiral told me: you need ONE sub to keep the Russian Black Sea fleet in check,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet accompanied by a cutaway diagram of the sub.
Melnyk also urged Germany to send its recently decommissioned Lubeck frigate, “or at least its weaponry like [the] Sea Sparrow [shipborne short-range anti-missile system] and Harpoon [anti-ship] missiles.”
In another tweet, he posted a link to a ThyssenKrupp promotional video on the Type 212CD Expeditionary sub.
Melnyk called on Ukraine’s NATO “allies” to come up with "a MASTER PLAN on how to DEFEAT Russia with tightly coordinated shipments of modern weapons including fighter jets and submarines” instead of worrying about escalating the conflict.
29 January 2023, 06:49 GMT
Reaction to the Ukrainian diplomat’s proposal on subs and frigates was mixed, with some dubbing it a “brilliant idea,” while others asked how the boats could be shipped to the Black Sea without Turkey taking issue. “How about no?” one critic suggested. “You get nothing, junge. Report yourself [to the front] and take up arms. This disgusting begging is unbearable,” another wrote. Others joked that maybe Kiev should ask France for an aircraft carrier or even go straight to nukes. “Mr. Melnyk, at some point you must realize that your alleged friends are not interested in a quick end to the war. You represent foreign interests superbly, keep it up,” one person commented. “Kick out a fleet that has been there since the 18th century with a submarine? And I thought in the Ukrainian government only Zelensky was the comedian,” another chimed in.
Andriy Melnyk has been a staple fixture of the German political scene since his appointment as ambassador to Germany in early 2015. Before the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, German politicians privately characterized him as a “pain in the a**” and did what they could to avoid encountering him. Last May, Bundestag lawmakers asked for the diplomat to be kicked out of the country after he called Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “offended liverwurst” for delaying his visit Kiev. Melnyk has consistently criticized the German government for its slow approval of new weapons deliveries. In 2021, he warned that Kiev might build nukes if it wasn’t allowed to join NATO.
After Germany and the US approved the delivery of Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks this week, Kiev set its sights on fighter jets, with Zelensky asking NATO to realize the “dream” of delivering “aircraft to Ukraine” after Russian forces destroyed most of the country’s air force. European diplomats and Pentagon officials are reportedly already lobbying to send F-16s to the conflict zone as NATO’s “red line” on arms deliveries continues to slowly shift in the direction of further escalation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the West of being openly involved in a “proxy war” with Moscow, and warned that any cargoes containing weaponry meant for Kiev will be considered legitimate targets by Russia.