Germany is planning to supply Ukraine with more weapons and ammunition worth nearly €700 million ($770 million).
Making the announcement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said: "I am very pleased that we were able to put together another package here in Vilnius today to support Ukraine in its defense struggle against Russian aggression."
The package serves "Ukraine's priorities," he said. Germany is thus making "an important contribution to strengthening Ukraine's ability to hold out," the minister added.
Specifically, the package includes two Patriot launchers from the German military's inventory as well as 70 armored combat vehicles, including 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
Artillery shells and reconnaissance and drone defense assets will also be supplied. In total, 31 items are involved, some of which are to be taken from the military's inventory.
Last year, the German government approved arms exports worth a total of €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) to Ukraine. In the first half of this year, exports were worth €1.65 billion ($1.81 billion).
Since May 2022, more than 3,500 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained on various weapons systems in Germany, according to the government.
Upon his arrival for the NATO meeting in Vilnius, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that it was very important to provide Ukraine with military support.
Moreover, he said, the military alliance must make a joint decision on this and drives forward the decisions of the 2008 Bucharest summit. At that time, the alliance had in principle granted Ukraine the prospect of accession, but the process subsequently stalled.
