German Defense Ministry reveals content of €650m military aid package for Ukraine

Germany's €650m military aid package to Ukraine will include IRIS-T air defense systems, Leopard 1 tanks, as well as reconnaissance and attack drones. German Defense Ministry spokesman Mitko Muller said at a briefing on December 2.

"The [IRIS-T] SLS and SLM systems we have put on long-term lists, and for these we expect deliveries as early as this year. We are further talking about combat vehicles, in particular Leopard 1 tanks, drones - reconnaissance and the first batch of strike vehicles," he said. Information about the aid package is presented on the website of the Tagesspiegel publication.

In addition, Mueller added that the aid package will also include small arms and winter clothing.

According to German government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner, the supply of most of the weapons to be sent to Ukraine was reported back in October. At that time, it became known about military aid for €1.4 billion, including two IRIS-T systems, 10 Leopard 1A5 tanks, as well as dozens of tanks of other types and several thousand missiles.

Earlier in the day, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during a visit to Kiev, promised to announce a new €650 million military aid package for Ukraine at a meeting with the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Earlier, on November 26, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers that the Federal Republic of Germany was ready to transfer two more IRIS-T systems to Ukraine. One of them will be medium-range and the second will be short-range, the equipment should be delivered in December.

On 24 November, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius pointed to Russia's superiority over the EU in the production of shells. The head of the Defense Ministry noted that Russia's defense-industrial complex (DIC) produces as many shells in three months as the EU countries are capable of producing in a year. In addition, Pistorius drew attention to the increasing scale of the Ukrainian conflict. The minister noted that the crisis is expanding and has lost its regional status, while the Russian Federation is building up its defense capabilities.

Western countries have increased military and financial support for Kiev against the background of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass, the launch of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.