Germany announces new arms package for Ukraine

Europe's economic powerhouse Germany on Monday announced an extensive new arms package for Kiev in its war against Russia, now well past 1,000 days old. 

The arms deal includes 15 Leopard 1 A5 main battle tanks, two Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, a self-propelled howitzer 2000, two Iris-T anti-aircraft systems, and two Patriot missile launch bases.

German air defense systems in particular are of great importance for Kyiv amid Russia's recently increased drone and missile attacks against Ukraine.

According to Berlin, the delivery of the additional Iris-T systems had already been promised in 2023. Furthermore, Germany is now supplying Ukraine with an additional 65,000 rounds of anti-aircraft tank ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks as well as additional ammunition for the Iris-T system.

Germany will also supply AIM-9L/I Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, which enable fighter aircraft to attack targets in the air.

In addition to the heavy weapons, the German arms package features also trucks, drones, other radar systems and ammunition.

Germany has now provided a total of around €28 billion (29.1 billion dollars) in military aid available to support Ukraine.

Part of the money was used to finance arms deliveries to industry, while the rest (€5.2 billion) comes from direct deliveries from the German military’s stocks.

After the United States, Germany is the second-largest supporter of Ukraine with weapons and other forms of aid.

Since Donald Trump was elected to return to the White House, with a skeptical eye toward aid to Ukraine, European countries have stressed their support for Ukraine in both words and arms.