The new military aid includes 30 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, 20 Marder armored personnel carriers and 200 reconnaissance drones.
Germany will provide Ukraine with additional military aid worth almost $3 billion, including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition, the government announced ahead of the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday that Berlin wanted to show “that Germany is serious about supporting Ukraine” with its latest 2.7 billion euro ($2.95 billion) military aid package.
“Germany will provide all the help it can for as long as it is necessary,” he said.
Although Germany was initially reluctant to provide military aid to Kiev, it has now become one of the largest arms suppliers to Ukraine and has crucially given the green light to supply modern main battle tanks in the form of its own Leopard 1 and 2 models to ward off drone and missile attacks Sophisticated anti-aircraft systems are required.
The new military aid package, first reported by the German weekly Der Spiegel, includes 30 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, 20 Marder armored personnel carriers, more than 100 combat vehicles, 18 self-propelled howitzers, 200 reconnaissance drones, four IRIS-T SLM anti-tank vehicles . Aircraft systems and other air defense equipment.
Germany’s support comes after Ukrainian military commanders said their troops were near the devastated eastern town of Bakhmut, which has become the symbolic epicenter of the battle between Kiev and Moscow, where their troops have been fighting in bloody urban wars for months, significant areas of recaptured by Russian forces.
Zelenskyy confirmed his arrival in Germany in a tweet early Sunday – his first visit since Russia’s invasion last year.
“Already in Berlin,” Zelenskyy wrote in a tweet. “Weapons. Powerful package. air defense. Reconstruction. EU. NATO. Security.”
Already in Berlin. Weapons. Powerful package. air defense. Reconstruction. EU. NATO. Security.
— Volodimir Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) May 13, 2023
Zelenskyy traveled to Berlin after meeting several Italian heads of state and Pope Francis in Italy on Saturday. A German Air Force jet flew Zelenskyy from Rome to the German capital.
The Ukrainian leader spent 40 minutes with the 86-year-old Pope at the Vatican, having earlier met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“I am very grateful to him for his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said in Telegram after his audience with the Pope. He said they also discussed the fate of “tens of thousands of children” who Kiev says were deported to Russia, and his peace plans.
The Vatican said, without mentioning Russia, the couple discussed “the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine caused by the ongoing war” and the need for “human gestures towards the most vulnerable people”.
Francis has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and tried to play a mediating role, although his efforts have so far yielded no results and he has faced criticism for failing to blame Russia for the war.
Pope Francis shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican on May 13, 2023 [Vatican Media via Reuters]Zelenskyy had a 70-minute face-to-face meeting with Meloni, who has pledged Italy’s full support for Kyiv despite her country – and among its coalition partners – having a history of good relations with Moscow. In a joint press conference, Zelenskyy thanked Meloni “for his help in saving lives” while detailing what he described as new aggressions by Russia.
“I didn’t come to complain, I came to talk about our cooperation and to thank you once again for helping us for the good of our country because we want peace,” he said.
Italy has sent arms and supplies to Kiev but has never disclosed exactly what it delivered. Meloni, who visited Kiev in February, said on Saturday: “I am convinced that Ukraine will win and be reborn stronger, prouder and more prosperous than before.”
The Ukrainian head of state is expected to accept the prestigious Charlemagne Prize at a ceremony in the western German city of Aachen on Sunday afternoon, the German Press Agency reported.
After a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other high-ranking officials in the Chancellery, Zelenskyy and Scholz are expected to fly to Aachen.
The International Charlemagne Prize was awarded to both Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in December and is now to be presented to the President in person.
The Charlemagne Prize, a non-monetary and largely symbolic award, was established in 1950 to recognize efforts towards European unity.
Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya and her two colleagues received the award last year.