Germany has trained 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers - defence minister

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has stressed the importance of providing the Ukrainian military with training and ammunition amid the debate of potentially providing Kiev with fighter jets.

"To date Germany alone has already provided 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers with special training in weapons systems," Pistorius said in Brussels, arriving at a meeting of NATO defence ministers on Tuesday.

He said the question of how to provide Ukraine with enough ammunition and missiles for air defence systems was gaining importance.

Pistorius said that the "big challenge in the next few months" for Ukraine was not to lose airspace to the Russian air force and to avoid even heavier bombings and attacks on critical infrastructure.

Pistorius called on the defence industry to step up ammunition production capacities.