Berlin crossed 'red line' by supplying weapons to Ukraine, envoy says

The Russian ambassador to Berlin, Sergey Nechayev, has renewed his criticism of Germany for supplying military hardware to Ukraine, with the Kremlin under pressure to halt a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

"The delivery of lethal weapons to the Ukrainian regime - which are used not only against Russian soldiers but also against the civilian population in the Donbass - is a 'red line' that the German government ... should not have crossed," Nechayev said in an interview with the Russian daily Izvestia on Monday.

He referred in the interview to Germany's "moral and historical responsibility for the crimes of Nazism in the Second World War."

In the course of the Ukraine crisis, the German government had destroyed its previously good bilateral relations with Russia and undermined the historical reconciliation process between the peoples, he said.

Nechayev denied that Germany could have a mediating role in helping to end the conflict, describing Berlin as one of the driving forces behind the West's sanctions policy against Russia.

Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine on February 24. Since then, the Germany government has supplied Kiev with military equipment and ammunition as well as anti-aircraft tanks, but has held back from supplying fighter jets or directly supplying Ukraine with the battle tanks that it has requested.

Berlin also cited its past wartime history as one reason for acting with relative caution when it came to supplying offensive weapons and hardware.

Nechayev's remarks come as Ukrainian forces advance further into previously Russian-held territory, particularly in the north-east.

With the counteroffensive gaining ground, calls have grown louder within Germany to supply Kiev directly with Leopard attack tanks.

A government spokesperson said on Monday however that "Germany would not be going it alone when it came to this matter." Berlin was in close touch with its allies over what kind of weaponry to supply to Ukraine, said deputy government spokesperson, Christiane Hoffmann.