Germany will not take the lead on supplying Ukraine with advanced Western fighter jets, the country's defence minister said, and will instead focus on training and supplying other weapons systems like tanks and anti-aircraft missiles.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius noted on Saturday that Germany does not possess any US-built F-16 fighter jets, the aircraft most by Ukraine, but does possess other types of highly regarded military equipment.
"We have been the experts for tank deliveries, tank technology, for air defence, which are still of enormous importance," Pistorius said on Saturday at a political event in Lower Saxony. "At this point we are not in the first row" of a coalition to supply fighter jets to Ukraine.
Pistorius said he expects Germany to train nearly 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of the year: "No other country in the world has trained as many."
