BERLIN — Germany will present Ukraine with extra navy support price greater than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), together with tanks, anti-aircraft techniques and ammunition, the federal government mentioned Saturday.
The announcement got here as preparations have been underway in Berlin for a doable first go to to Germany by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since Russia invaded his nation final yr.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius mentioned that Berlin needs to indicate with the newest package deal of arms “that Germany is serious in its support” for Ukraine.
“Germany will provide all the help it can, as long as it takes,” he mentioned.
While Zelenskyy’s go to on Sunday has but to be formally confirmed, it could be an indication that relations between Ukraine and Germany have improved markedly after a rocky patch.
Kyiv has lengthy been suspicious of Germany’s reliance on Russian power and help for the Nord Stream fuel pipelines circumventing Ukraine, defended by then Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Her successor, Olaf Scholz, agreed to part out Russian power imports after the invasion however initially hesitated to offer Ukraine with deadly weapons, fearing Germany could possibly be drawn into the battle.
With Washington, Warsaw and London extra overtly supportive of Ukraine‘s efforts to defend itself, Berlin bought the chilly diplomatic shoulder from Kyiv.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was disinvited from Ukraine final yr,prompting annoyance in Germany, which identified that it has given appreciable monetary support to Kyiv and brought in additional than 1,000,000 Ukrainian refugees. Scholz ultimately visited Kyiv with French President Emmanuel Macron and different leaders in June.
Though sluggish to offer navy support, Germany has since turn out to be one of many largest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, crucially giving the inexperienced mild for deliveries of recent battle tanks like its personal Leopard 1 and a pair of, together with refined anti-aircraft techniques wanted to fend off drone and missile assaults.
The new navy support package deal, first reported by German weekly Der Spiegel, consists of 30 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, 20 Marder armored personnel carriers, greater than 100 fight automobiles, 18 self-propelled Howitzers, 200 reconnaissance drones, 4 IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft techniques and different air protection gear. It comes after Ukrainian navy commanders mentioned their troops recaptured extra territory from Russian forces close to the japanese metropolis of Bakhmut amid hypothesis a few doable counteroffensive by Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president can be arriving from Rome, the place he was assembly Saturday with Pope Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni.
Berlin police confirmed final week that they’re making ready for a doable go to by Zelenskyy and have imposed a safety cordon all through a lot of the capital’s authorities district Sunday.
After assembly Scholz and different senior officers on the chancellery, the 2 leaders are anticipated to fly to the western metropolis of Aachen, the place Zelenskyy would obtain the International Charlemagne Prize awarded to him and the individuals of Ukraine. Organizers say the award acknowledges that their resistance towards Russia‘s invasion is a protection “not just of the sovereignty of their country and the life of its citizens, but also of Europe and European values.”
Zelenskyy final visited Berlin in July 2021. He additionally attended the Munich Security Conference the next February, days earlier than Russia launched its full-scale assault on Ukraine.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com