United to win: Germany sends new military aid package to Ukraine
Germany is still actively supporting Ukraine in its efforts to bolster its defense capabilities. The recently announced military aid package includes a range of weapons and equipment.
The German government's press service reported that.
This time, the list of supplies included:
- 22 LEOPARD 1 A5 main battle tanks with spare parts (joint project with Denmark);
- 22 anti-mine vehicles with ambush protection (MRAP);
- five tracked all-terrain vehicles, Bandvagn 206 (BV206), and a bottom commander's car Warthog;
- three GEPARD self-propelled anti-aircraft guns with spare parts;
- two TRML-4D air surveillance radar stations;
- 61 thousand 155 mm artillery shells.
Also, as part of the new military aid package, Germany handed over reconnaissance drones:
- 30 VECTOR,
- 20 RQ-35 HEIDRUN,
- 12 SONGBIRD,
- 6 Hornet XR,
- 20 unmanned surface ships.
In addition, the new aid package includes:
- engineering and anti-mine vehicles, including six WISENT 1 anti-mine tanks and a DACHS armored car;
- 16 ground surveillance radars and two AMPS self-defense systems for helicopters;
- transport and logistics vehicles, including 112 cars and eight Zetros tankers.
Germany also transferred weapons to Ukraine. In particular:
- ten MG3 machine guns with 500 spare barrels,
- 12 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers,
- One hundred thousand cartridges for firearms.
For reference:
In August, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung stated that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had requested no new funding requests for Ukraine to be received. It was revealed that 8 billion euros had already been approved for military aid to Ukraine by 2024, and the budget of 4 billion euros allocated for 2025 had also been frozen.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured that his country will continue to support Ukraine, particularly with a 50 billion euro loan within the framework of the "Group of Seven" (G7).
The statement of the head of the German federal government was heard against the background of publications in the media about the possible termination of further aid to Kyiv. He emphasized that Germany "was and remains" the country that provides the most assistance to Ukraine among European states.
"And we continue our support with the help of a loan of 50 billion euros, which we are launching together with the G7. This will allow Ukraine to purchase weapons on a large scale. It can rely on this," Scholz's post reads.
In September, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed hope that the government will allocate additional funds to supply weapons to Ukraine in 2024.
In July of this year, following the NATO summit, Pistorius announced that the budget allocated for Ukraine's military aid was mainly utilized or earmarked. This was the reason for his proposal to increase the budget for 2024.
Pistorius did not say precisely how much money the German government would allocate this time. According to SPIEGEL, the country's defense ministry hopes to receive almost half a billion euros. With these funds, urgent packages of spare parts will be possible to order, without which some weapons systems, which have already been delivered from Germany, cannot be used at the front.
On August 19, Berlin announced a new aid package for Ukraine. It includes a new air defense system, drones, rifles, and shells.
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