Germany unveils new defence aid for Ukraine worth €1.1b

Ukraine received a new military aid package worth €1.1 billion and a sweeping set of long-term security assurances from Germany on Friday, in a clear show of support from Berlin as Kiev prepares for a third year of war with Russia, reported dpa.

The package includes the delivery of 36 howitzers, 120,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, two additional air defence systems and IRIS-T missiles.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz unveiled the aid during a joint meeting in Berlin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is pressing Western allies for desperately needed weapons and military equipment to fight Russia's invasion.

Zelensky is scheduled to be in Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron later on Friday.

"We need this right now," Zelensky said as he thanked Scholz. "German support is vital for us, for our fighters on the front line."

The Ukrainian leader's visit - his third to Germany since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an all-out invasion on February 24, 2022 - comes at a precarious moment for his country.

After months of wrangling, earlier this week the US Senate approved $60 billion in aid for Kiev. But support for Ukraine has eroded among many conservatives and it is not clear that the measure will get through the Republican-led House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's battlefield momentum has been stalled for months and Zelensky recently replaced much of the military leadership in the most significant shake-up since the war began.

On Friday, there were signs that Russia could soon seize Ukraine's key eastern town of Avdiivka.

Scholz said his government's latest military aid pledge showed that Germany will continue to support Ukraine for "as long as it takes."

Scholz and Zelensky on Friday also signed a bilateral security agreement, which the German leader called a "historic step."

The pact is based on a decision taken by NATO leaders at their summit meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, last July. There it was agreed that all member states would conclude bilateral deals with Kiev in order to guarantee Ukraine's security in the long term.

Britain was the first to arrange the security cooperation agreement, with other NATO states gradually following suit. On Friday evening, Macron and Zelensky plan to sign a similar deal.

Relations between Germany and Ukraine have "reached a whole new level" in the past two years, Scholz said.

Germany has so far provided around €7.1 billion in military support for Ukraine in 2024 and pledged €6 billion in commitments for subsequent years.

Scholz said that, in total, Germany has pledged or provided around €28 billion in various aid to Ukraine.