Meanwhile, officials in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, have banned public celebrations commemorating independence from Soviet rule, citing a raised threat of Russian attack in the war. Follow DW for more.
Germany is prepared to ship in 2023 more than €500 million ($499.3 million) in weapons to help Ukraine fend off the ongoing Russian invasion, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced.
Among other things, Germany will send to Ukraine three more Iris-T air defense systems, a dozen armored recovery vehicles, 20 pickup mounted rocket launchers, precision ammunition and anti-drone devices, a government spokesman said on Tuesday during the chancellor’s trip to Canada.
“This is a step towards a sustainable modernization of the Ukrainian armed forces,” said the spokesman.
Scholz had recently promised further large-scale financial and military support for Ukraine.
Earlier this year Germany wrestled with the question of whether it should supply weapons to Ukraine, resulting in long delays that were the subject of considerable criticism both domestically and abroad.
But the deliveries have sped up, and Berlin says it has already supplied Ukraine with 15 self-propelled GEPARD anti-aircraft guns, 10 self-propelled howitzers, several armored personnel carriers, hundreds of portable air defense systems, as well as a slew of other lethal and non-lethal aid.
