BERLIN, June 2. /TASS/. Germany’s armed forces would be capable of defending NATO if the alliance were attacked, but the Bundeswehr’s defense posture has been seriously diminished by the flow of military equipment supplies going to Ukraine, Bundeswehr Parliamentary Commissioner Eva Hoegl said in an interview posted on t-online.de on Friday.

"The Bundeswehr does not have full operational readiness because of major gaps due to supplies going to Ukraine. And because the Bundeswehr has very little materiel and too few personnel," she said, adding that the German armed forces could nevertheless still "provide for the defense of the North Atlantic Alliance."

Hoegl replied in the affirmative to a question about whether the German armed forces had been weakened by every new consignment of military supplies going east to the Kiev regime. "This is inevitably so. They have been economizing on the Bundeswehr for years, and now they have to work simultaneously on many fronts. The Bundeswehr has reached the limit of its capabilities," Hoegl lamented. The commissioner noted, however, that she had been hearing the same "Ukraine is a priority" mantra even in conversations with military staff.

Meanwhile, the German armed forces "could still be saved" if appropriations earmarked for modernization initiatives were used even more intensively, she maintained.

In late February 2022, German lawmakers voted to allocate 100 billion euros for purchasing new gear, munitions and equipment, as well as for developing new systems. Hoegl has repeatedly said, however, that the Bundeswehr’s material and technical base has not seen any improvement in recent months.

Earlier, the German Defense Ministry unveiled its latest military aid package for Kiev, worth 2.7 billion euros and including 20 Marder infantry combat vehicles, 30 Leopard 1A5 tanks, 200 reconnaissance drones, four IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft systems, and logistical vehicles, as well as ammunition. The list also includes 18 self-propelled howitzers and 100 armored fighting vehicles.