Germany handed over a new package of military aid to Kyiv
The German government announced the transfer of another package of military assistance to Ukraine, which is defending itself from a Russian invasion. It included ammunition for Leopard 1 tanks (number unspecified), 8 armored personnel carriers, explosive ordnance disposal equipment (from Bundeswehr and industrial stocks), 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 15 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and 149 RQ-35 Heidrun reconnaissance drones, it is reported on the official website of the federal government, reports DW.
In addition, the package includes 3 vehicles, 40 Mercedes-Benz Zetros tankers, 20 Zetros refrigerators, 50 SatCom communication terminals, 5 border guard vehicles, 2,500 protective helmets and 2,000 LED lights, it further notes.
As indicated in the statement, the total volume of military assistance to Ukraine from Germany in 2023 amounted to 5.4 billion euros, in 2022 - 2 billion euros. In the coming years, Germany has already committed itself to transferring aid worth 10.5 billion euros, Berlin reported.
The day before it became known that Germany will allocate more than 7 billion euros for military assistance to Ukraine in 2024, and not 4 billion, as previously planned. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this in a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden. The leaders of Germany and the United States in their conversation “noted the need for further financial, military and humanitarian support for Ukraine” as it continues to defend itself from Russian aggression, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.
Thanks to this doubling, Germany will also increase defense spending to 2.1 percent of its GDP and thus satisfy NATO's demand. The United States and Germany lead in absolute terms of assistance provided to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Germany, among other things, supplied Kyiv with Leopard tanks, IRIS-T SLM air defense systems and missiles for them.
The United States, according to the German Institute of World Economics in Kiel (IfW), has allocated about 44 billion euros for military support to Ukraine by the end of 2023. However, at the beginning of 2024, Washington's military assistance to Kyiv was temporarily suspended due to disagreements in Congress between Republicans and Democrats. On January 6, The New York Times reported that the United States would soon stop supplying Ukraine with missiles for the Patriot air defense system.