Germany will give another 400 million euros ($428 million) of weapons and aid to Ukraine as it fights back against Russia, Berlin said Monday, ahead of key talks among Kyiv’s allies.
“We are supplying additional ammunition,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told top German tabloid Bild, a day before the talks at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
“Ammunition is what Ukraine needs most in its defensive struggle against the brutal war of aggression.
“In addition, we will help with armoured vehicles and mine-clearing systems,” he said, adding that, with winter approaching, the supplies will include clothing and power generators.
“In total, the package will be worth 400 million euros.”
Pistorius added he would have to skip the Ramstein talks himself after contracting the coronavirus.
The package did not include long-range Taurus cruise missiles — a weapon Ukraine has been pleading for but which Berlin has so far refused to provide.
The decision was “not easy,” the minister said. “A multitude of political, legal, military, and technical aspects have to be clarified.”
Tuesday’s talks will be the latest to be held by Kyiv’s allies in Ramstein to coordinate support, and will bring together representatives from more than 50 countries including the United States.
They come as Ukraine pushes on with its grinding counteroffensive, which has so far made limited gains.
After the Russian invasion, Germany dropped a traditionally pacifist stance to funnel weapons to Ukraine, and has become Kyiv’s second biggest supplier of arms.
Berlin has regularly announced new packages of weapons and other supplies for Ukraine and earlier this year dropped resistance to Kyiv receiving German-made, heavy Leopard tanks.
In July, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will have supplied Ukraine with around 17 billion euros in military assistance by 2027.
