Too many german businesses in Russia?
British Royal Air Force planes flew around German airspace when they delivered anti-tank weaponry to Ukraine on Monday,
flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has called on
the likes of the US, UK, and Germany to provide military aid to help counter the buildup of
Russian troops at its border. Ukraine and the US have long warned of an imminent Russian invasion.
Ben Wallace, the UK defense minister,
told Parliament on Monday that Britain was sending "light, anti-armor, defensive weapon systems" to Ukraine to use only in self-defense in case of a Russian invasion.
The weapons were transported on RAF C-17 planes that flew to Ukraine by an unusually long route: through Danish instead of German airspace, as can be seen below.
The choice of route is notable given that Germany
declined to send arms to Ukraine in December.
Germany has also blocked Ukraine from receiving NATO shipments of rifles and anti-drone weaponry sourced from the US and Lithuania in recent months, the Ukrainian news outlet
ZN reported.
The
Daily Mail reported that Germany denied the C-17s permission to use its airspace.
But a spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defence told Insider: "Germany has not denied access to its airspace as the UK did not submit a request. There has been no dispute between the UK and Germany on this issue."
And a spokesperson for the German defense ministry told Bild, "There had been no application from the British for the flights."
The C-17s were therefore "not prohibited" from using German airspace, the spokesperson said, Bild reported.
The planes also avoided German airspace on their return flights to RAF Brize Norton, FlightRadar24 data showed.
The weapons were transported on RAF planes that flew to Ukraine by an unusually long route: through Danish instead of German airspace.
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