Berlin's obstinate refusal until now to approve weapons deliveries, and a previous decision to send only 5,000 helmets, had sparked anger and mockery.
Hours before Germany's key policy shift, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki became the latest leader to hit out at Berlin over its weapons exports stance as he arrived in Berlin for talks with Scholz.
"Five thousand helmets? That must be some kind of joke.
There needs to be real help... weapons," he said, stressing that Ukraine is not just fighting for itself.
"They are also fighting for us. For our freedom, our sovereignty. So that we aren't next in line," he said.
Morawiecki had also voiced frustration with Berlin for dawdling on agreeing "crushing" sanctions, including booting Russia out of the SWIFT system that banks rely on to transfer money.German Finance Minister Christian Lindner had earlier this week laid out starkly the preoccupation of Europe's biggest economy: suspension of SWIFT "would mean that there is a high risk that Germany will no longer receive gas, raw material supplies from Russia".
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/germany-to-send-anti-tank-weapons-missiles-to-ukraine-in-policy-reversal-2791992
