New military aid for 1.13 billion euros
, which adds to the 28 billion already sent over time
from Berlin to Kiev
.
This is what was decided on the occasion of the security agreement signed in the German capital by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"For the first time in its history" Germany "assumes the role of guarantor state", underlines a note from the German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius.
The agreement with Kiev is a clear sign of "increased German responsibility in security policy in Europe", Pistorius further says.
The German Defense Ministry called the new aid the
"Munich package"
.
The package includes 18 additional Pzh 2000 self-propelled howitzers, which will be delivered from 2026 to 2027 (including training, ammunition and spare parts).
Between 2025 and 2027, 18 self-propelled howitzers on Rch 155 wheels will also be sent (which will be added to the same number already planned).
Germany will also send 120,000 122-millimeter artillery ammunition to Ukraine for the first time this year.
In 2025, Kiev will also receive a second Skynex air defense system from Berlin and, in 2024, an additional 100 IRIS-T SLS missiles (in addition to those already planned).
Berlin, Chancellor Scholz said, sends "a clear message" to
Vladimir Putin
that it will continue to support Ukraine.
The chancellor stressed that Berlin's support for Kiev will continue "as long as there is a need."
The German chancellor also appealed to the
US Congress
to "authorize the decisions necessary to guarantee support" for Ukraine, given that US support remains "essential" for Kiev.
Scholz said this in Berlin, at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president said he is counting on American help, even if there are some "radical" voices in the US.
“However, I believe we will have the usual pragmatic approach of the United States,” Zelensky said.
On the fighting front, meanwhile, Kiev announces that after many months of clashes the decision has been made to withdraw from the Zenith position on the south-eastern outskirts of
Avdiivka
: this was stated by the commander of the operational-strategic group of troops "Tavria", General of brigade Oleksandr Tarnavsky.
"We held this position as long as it enabled us to effectively deter and destroy the enemy," he said.
And he added that the decision to leave the position was made to "preserve the military and improve the operational situation."
Violent fighting is underway in the city of Donetsk.
The Ukrainian army says that Russian troops have been encircling Kiev's forces for days.
Fierce battles would be taking place inside the city.
The battle of Avdiivka is in a "critical" phase and more difficult than that of Bakhmut, which lasted months until the conquest of the Ukrainian city by the Russian army.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian forces fighting in the area said this on Friday.
Stoltenberg, 'war industry is needed since war times'
"Putin must realize that he will not get what he wants on the battlefield, to have a stable peace he must therefore continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs: we must move from a slow-paced industrial system, from times of peace, to one from the high pace, typical of conflicts, to produce more".
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this during a joint statement with the President of the European Commission in Munich.
"All this will not only help Ukraine but also NATO, with the creation of quality jobs, like here in Bavaria, where the Patriot missiles will be built"
Zelensky arrived in Berlin to meet Scholz
Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Berlin to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Spiegel reports it.
With Scholz, the Ukrainian president will sign a bilateral security pact between Germany and Ukraine.
The goal is long-term commitments and support.
There were no details about the visit until the last minute, for security reasons.
Zelensky will next travel to Paris.
Tomorrow he is expected as a guest at the Security Conference in Munich.
Moscow: 5 Kiev drones shot down over Belgorod and Black Sea
Moscow says it shot down a Ukrainian drone today in the southwestern Russian region of Belgorod and four others over the Black Sea. "Yet another attempt by the Kiev regime to use fixed-wing drones for a terrorist attack on the territory of the Russian Federation has been foiled - reads a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, quoted by the Tass agency -. Air defense units in service intercepted and destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Belgorod region and the waters of the Black Sea", reads the note from Fly.
Yesterday six people were killed and 19 others injured in a missile raid by Kiev forces on the city of Belgorod, according to Russian authorities.
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