Germany to provide Ukraine with largest military aid package since beginning of war

The German government has formed another military aid package to support Ukraine; it is worth about €2.7 billion, and it will be delivered in the coming weeks and months.

Source: Spiegel with reference to government sources

Details: The list of new weapons is quite long. Ukraine will receive another 20 Marder armoured personnel carriers and 30 Leopard 1 tanks. In addition, the delivery of 18 wheeled howitzers, which has already been announced for the end of 2022, is expected. The federal government plans to supply four more IRIS-T-SLM air defence systems, 12 IRIS -T-SLS launchers and hundreds of guided missiles for this system.

Berlin also wants to help Ukraine in reconnaissance of Russian positions. The delivery of up to 200 reconnaissance drones is planned. They also plan to transfer 100 armoured combat vehicles, which will primarily be used to transport troops to the front, and more than 100 logistical support vehicles.

This is the largest package of weapons that Germany has provided to strengthen the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the beginning of the war in February 2022.

With the new arms shipment, the federal government is focusing on two fronts. On the one hand, the ground forces of Ukraine should be strengthened with armoured personnel carriers and main battle tanks. In addition, Germany wants to significantly modernise the air defence of Ukraine.

According to Spiegel, this package will be announced simultaneously with the presentation of the Charlemagne Award to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Aachen.on Sunday, which will be done as a clear symbol of German solidarity with Ukraine. Perhaps Zelenskyy himself will come to Germany for the award ceremony.

Previously: On Friday, German police announced increased security measures throughout Sunday amid unconfirmed reports of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit.

There has been no official confirmation that Zelenskyy will indeed come to Germany so far. If this happens, it will be the first time since the full-scale attack of Russia on Ukraine. At the same time, on Saturday, as is already known, Zelenskyy is coming to Italy.

Background:

• Last week, it was reported that the President of Ukraine would arrive in Germany on 13 May at the invitation of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Chancellor Olaf Scholz was supposed to officially meet Zelenskyy the next day
• After that, t-online reported that Zelenskyy may cancel his visit to Germany due to the leak of information about it.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!