Germany approves shipment of armed vehicles to Ukraine: report

Germany has approved the delivery of nearly 60 armored combat vehicles to Ukraine, local media reported on Friday.

The government has granted the Czech Republic permission to transfer the infantry fighting vehicles of the type BMP-1, which were previously owned by Germany, according to daily Die Welt.

The armored vehicles will be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks following a technical inspection, said the daily.

The combat vehicles from the former East German army were passed on to Sweden at the end of the 1990s, and later sold to a company in the Czech Republic.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on European countries to supply heavy weapons, tanks and fighter jets to his country.

Germany had long resisted calls from the U.S. and other allies to supply weapons to Ukraine, but reversed its long-standing policy following Russia's military attack.

The Russian war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the European Union, U.S., and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,276 civilians have been killed and 1,981 injured in Ukraine, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.1 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.