Germany will not send fighter jets to Ukraine, chancellor says

Germany will not send fighter jets to Ukraine to aid in its war effort against Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this week shortly after the country announced it would be sending over a dozen tanks to the embattled country. 

Scholz made the remarks to the Berlin-based newspaper Der Taggespiegel. "The question of fighter planes does not even arise," he said. "I can only advise against get into a constant bidding war when it comes to weapon systems."

"As soon as a decision (on the tanks) is taken, a new debate starts in Germany," he said of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war. The constant arguing "is not serious and undermines the confidence of the citizens in the decisions of the government," he claimed. 

Germany's gift of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine came at the same time that the United States sent the country multiple Abrams tanks to assist Ukrainian forces in their struggle against the Russian invasion.