Ukraine is seeking to obtain warships from Germany to fight submarines and Russian ships

The Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnik called on Sunday for Germany to help boost Kyiv’s naval capabilities, proposing to hand over a decommissioned submarine and frigate to his country.

Germany recently agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, finally succumbing to months of pressure from the United States and its NATO allies.

Berlin also said it would allow other countries that possess German-made tanks to deliver them to Ukraine.

Melnik wrote on Twitter, “A month ago, Germany stopped the frigate Lubeck, after a service that lasted 32 years, and with the political will, that frigate can be transferred to Ukraine to fight submarines and Russian warships in the Black Sea”.

He added, “If the entire warship is not transferred, sending its weapons, such as the Sea Sparrow and Harpoon missiles, will strengthen our Ukrainian forces”.

In a separate tweet hours earlier, Melnik called on Germany to give Ukraine one of its six HDW Class 212A submarines.

He explained that the HDW Class 212A submarine is considered one of the best submarines in the world, and suggested that the German army donate one of the 6 212A submarines to Ukraine, saying, “Why doesn’t Berlin send one to Ukraine?”

He later tweeted that he had the experience of being on board such a submarine in 2008, during his tenure as the Consul General of Ukraine in Germany.

Melnik held the position of Ukrainian consul in Germany between 2007 and 2012, after which he held the position of Kyiv ambassador to Berlin between 2015 and 2022, and he assumed the position of deputy foreign minister last November.

In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that his country was facing a very difficult situation in the eastern Donetsk region and needed faster arms supplies and new types of weapons to resist Russian attacks.

“The situation is very difficult,” Zelensky added in his videotaped nightly address.

There are continuous Russian attacks in Bakhmut, Volidar and other sectors in the Donetsk region”.

Zelensky said, “Russia wants the war to prolong and exhaust our forces… Therefore, we must speed up events, speed up supplies, and make new weapons options available to Ukraine”.