GERMANY-UKRAINE/PACKAGE – REUTERS Agency
BERLIN, May 13 (Reuters) – Germany announced 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion) of military aid to Ukraine on Saturday, the biggest such package since the Russian invasion, pledging to continue supporting Kiev as long as it is needed. .
The package will include 30 Leopard 1 tanks, 15 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, more than 200 reconnaissance drones and four Iris-T anti-aircraft systems, according to a Defense Ministry statement.
“We all want a quick end to this terrible and illegal war (…) Unfortunately, this is not yet foreseeable. Therefore, Germany will provide all the help it can, for as long as it takes,” said the German Defense Minister. Boris Pistorius.
“Thank you to our allies,” Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, wrote in a Telegram message confirming the package.
Ukraine has pressed its allies for long-range weapons, aircraft and ammunition ahead of a counter-offensive expected in the coming weeks or months. The German package on Saturday also included 18 howitzers.
At first, Germany was reluctant to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons to help counter the Russian invasion, fearing it could intensify fighting. But in January Berlin agreed to send Leopard tanks and said it would work with the allies to send more.
(1 dollar = 0.9084 euros) (Reporting by Max Hunder, Victoria Waldersee, Sabine Siebold; Editing in Spanish by Ricardo Figueroa)
Source: Ambito
