Ukraine Receives New Arms Boost From Germany

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius revealed a new $542 million arms package for Ukraine on Thursday while visiting the port city of Odesa.

Pistorius’ announcement was made alongside Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who met with his German counterpart to discuss Kyiv’s military needs. According to DW News, it is the third time that Pistorius has visited Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

“We will continue to support you in this defensive campaign,” Pistorius said during his meeting with Umerov.

The package included fresh ammunition for the IRIS-T air defense system, which is capable of reaching short to medium ranges. DW News reported that the systems can intercept missiles up to 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in altitude and 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) in distance.

Pistorius announced over X, formerly Twitter, last week that Germany had provided another IRIS-T SLM and IRIS-T SLS “combined fire unit” to Kyiv’s military. NATO allies have worked to bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities in recent months amid an increase in Russian air strikes.

Sweden also pledged a military aid package worth more that $1.25 billion to Ukraine on Thursday, the largest that the country has provided to Kyiv to date. The package will include airborne surveillance and control aircraft, artillery and Sweden’s “entire stock” of tracked armored personnel carriers.

Stockholm said on Thursday that the package will bring Ukraine’s air defenses to a “completely new capability.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week that allocates $1.1 billion of Madrid’s military aid to Kyiv in 2024. That package includes anti-aircraft missiles, Leopard tanks and ammunition, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Ukraine is also set to receive a large package from the United Kingdom in the coming weeks, which will include naval boats and weapons, air defense missiles, precision-guided missiles and combat vehicles. The package, announced by U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in late April, is worth $618 million, and brings the British aid total for the financial year to $3.71 billion.

After months of debate and delay, the United States’ supplemental aid to Ukraine is set to begin reaching Ukraine’s frontlines, although Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelensky, told Bloomberg in an interview published Wednesday that the weaponry was taking “weeks” to reach where it is needed most along the line of contact.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warned in its assessment of the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday that Russia was likely looking to take “advantageous” amid the delays in U.S.-provided aid to Kyiv.