Germany to provide Ukraine with additional air-defence systems and Gepard anti-aircraft guns
Germany is providing Leopard 1 MBTs to Ukraine.(Photo: German Armed Forces)
The German government has announced a billion-euro-plus package of equipment for Ukraine which includes Patriot and IRIS-T air defence systems and Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
In addition, the government will provide special forces equipment such as vehicles, weapons and personal equipment worth more than €20 million ($21.2 million).
The provision of another Patriot phased array tracking radar follows supply of the same system to Ukraine earlier in October. This order included fire control station, the radar and eight other launchers and was also expected to contain more than 60 guided missiles.
Germany is the world’s largest supporter of the Ukraine in its war against Russia apart from the US.
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Germany has a major production line for munitions and will also provide a further 10 Leopard 1 A5 MBTs, three more Gepard anti-aircraft gun tanks, 15 armoured transport vehicles and almost 20 armoured medical vehicles which will arrive in Ukraine before the end of October.
The country has also been key to the training of Ukrainian forces and by the end of 2023 a total of 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers are expected to have been trained in Germany.
The announcement of additional support was made shortly before the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein format.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the equipment was to ‘to protect critical infrastructure in the early winter and to provide further military support [and increase] the operational readiness of the Ukrainian armed forces even further in the coming months.’
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