Germany will provide Ukraine with more than €2.7bn ($3bn) worth of additional military aid, including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition, according to Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. The announcement comes ahead of a possible visit to Germany by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and is intended to demonstrate Germany’s support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other senior officials before flying to Aachen to receive the International Charlemagne Prize, which recognises Ukraine’s resistance against Russia as a defence of European values. The new military aid package includes 30 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, 20 Marder armoured personnel carriers, more than 100 combat vehicles, 18 self-propelled howitzers, 200 reconnaissance drones, four IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft systems and other air defence equipment.
Germany’s relationship with Ukraine has been strained in the past, with Kyiv suspicious of Berlin’s reliance on Russian energy and support for the Nord Stream gas pipelines. After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Scholz agreed to phase out Russian energy imports but initially hesitated to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, fearing Germany could be drawn into the conflict. With Washington, Warsaw and London more overtly supportive of Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself, Berlin got the cold diplomatic shoulder from Kyiv. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was disinvited from Ukraine last year, causing annoyance in Germany, which has given considerable financial aid to Kyiv and taken in more than a million Ukrainian refugees. However, since Scholz visited Kyiv with French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders in June, Germany has become one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Ukraine.
