BERLIN (AP)– Germany will supply Ukraine with additional military aid worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition, the government stated Saturday.
The announcement came as preparations were underway in Berlin for a possible very first check out to Germany by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy given that Russia attacked his nation in 2015.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Berlin wishes to show with the most recent bundle of arms “that Germany is major in its support” for Ukraine.
“Germany will supply all the help it can, as long as it takes,” he stated.
While Zelenskyy’s visit on Sunday has yet to be formally confirmed, it would be a sign that relations between Ukraine and Germany have enhanced considerably after a rocky spot.
Kyiv has long been suspicious of Germany’s dependence on Russian energy and support for the Nord Stream gas pipelines preventing Ukraine, protected by then Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Her successor, Olaf Scholz, agreed to phase out Russian energy imports after the intrusion but initially thought twice to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons, fearing Germany might be drawn into the conflict.
With Washington, Warsaw and London more overtly helpful of Ukraine’s efforts to protect itself, Berlin got the cold diplomatic shoulder from Kyiv.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was disinvited from Ukraine last year, triggering inconvenience in Germany, which pointed out that it has provided considerable financial assistance to Kyiv and taken in more than a million Ukrainian refugees. Scholz ultimately visited Kyiv with French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders in June.
Though slow to offer military aid, Germany has since turned into one of the greatest providers of arms to Ukraine, most importantly okaying for shipments of modern-day battle tanks like its own Leopard 1 and 2, along with advanced anti-aircraft systems required to fend off drone and rocket attacks.
More Weapons Please: Germany Needs To Stop Being ‘Small-Minded’, Turn Over More Arms, States Ukraine https://t.co/djj92LLKAr
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 12, 2023
The brand-new military help bundle, initially reported by German weekly Der Spiegel, consists of 30 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, 20 Marder armored personnel providers, more than 100 combat cars, 18 self-propelled Howitzers, 200 reconnaissance drones, 4 IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft systems and other air defense devices. It comes after Ukrainian military leaders stated their soldiers regained more area from Russian forces near the eastern city of Bakhmut in the middle of speculation about a possible counteroffensive by Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president would be arriving from Rome, where he was satisfying Saturday with Pope Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni.
Berlin police confirmed last week that they are getting ready for a possible visit by Zelensky and have imposed a security cordon throughout much of the capital’s government district Sunday.
After meeting Scholz and other senior officials at the chancellery, the 2 leaders are anticipated to fly to the western city of Aachen, where Zelensky would get the International Charlemagne Prize granted to him and the people of Ukraine. Organizers state the award recognizes that their resistance versus Russia’s invasion is a defense “not just of the sovereignty of their nation and the life of its citizens, but also of Europe and European worths.”
Zelensky last visited Berlin in July 2021. He also went to the Munich Security Conference the following February, days prior to Russia released its major attack on Ukraine.
Now Getting Tanks, Ukraine Advances Discussions to Jets, Submarines, Long-Range Missiles https://t.co/YwWlSy6Vt5
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 29, 2023