Guns, tanks, honours, and gentle words. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday called Germany a “true friend” in his country’s battle against Russia, as Berlin pledged unwavering support for Kyiv ahead of a widely expected counter-offensive.
For his first visit to Germany since Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was received with full honours by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday, as Berlin unveiled a new military package for Kyiv worth 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), its biggest yet for Ukraine.
Scholz reiterated Berlin’s firm backing, telling Zelensky directly: “We will support you for as long as it is necessary.”
Ukrainian forces have been training troops and stockpiling Western-supplied munitions and hardware that analysts say will be key to reclaiming territory captured by Russia.
Once accused of reticence in supplying military gear to Ukraine, Germany has since become the second-biggest contributor of tanks, rockets and anti-missile systems to the country, after the United States.
In a clear show of its backing for Kyiv, Berlin on Saturday said it would send Ukraine more firing units and launchers for the Iris-T anti-missile system, 30 additional Leopard 1 tanks, more than 100 armoured combat vehicles and over 200 surveillance drones.
As Kyiv prepares its offensive to retake ground in the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south, Germany’s continued military backing will likely prove vital.
High-tech German-made Leopard 2A6 tanks sought by Kyiv have already been put to use at the frontlines, and the medium-range Iris-T missile defence system from Germany is also helping to bolster Ukraine’s protection against Russian strikes.
In a rare announcement of losses on the battlefield, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement that that two of its military commanders had been killed in combat near the flashpoint town of Bakhmut.
Elsewhere, Moscow said Russian forces had struck Western arm depots and Ukrainian troops in the western city of Ternopil and the eastern town of Petropavlivka.
Roger Barake, with AFP
