German Chancellor Olaf Scholz today announced another €1.4 billion in military aid to Ukraine by the end of the year, saying it should be a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the West will not stop its support for Kiev, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The aid will be jointly granted with Belgium, Denmark and Norway. The delivery will also include air defense systems, tanks, combat drones and artillery.
"This is a clear message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin – that buying time won't work. We will not stop our support for Ukraine," Scholz said during his meeting with Zelensky in Berlin.
The German chancellor also condemned Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, which, he said, were aimed at breaking the population's resistance to the invasion of Moscow's forces.
For his part, Zelensky thanked the German authorities for their support. “Germany has helped our country more than any other with air defense systems”, Zelensky said during the meeting. “These are the facts. And she (Germany) saved the lives of thousands of Ukrainians by giving our cities and villages protection from Russian terror," he added.
Zelensky called “priceless“ anti-aircraft guns “Cheetah“ and the air defense systems “IRIS-T“ (IRIS-T) and “Patriot“.
Germany is the second largest donor of military aid to Ukraine after the US, but Chancellor Scholz has so far refrained from sending long-range “Taurus” missiles to Kiev.
During the meeting, the Ukrainian president also presented to Scholz his plan to win the war while continuing to insist on long-range missiles to be provided with which to launch attacks deep into Russian territory.
Details of his plan have not been made public. A US official previously described it as a revised request for more weapons and lifting restrictions on the use of long-range missiles.
The two state leaders were unanimous that Russia should participate in a peace conference in order to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
„It is clear that peace can only be achieved on the basis of international law. It will require a huge effort,”, Scholz said. “We will not accept a peace dictated by Russia”, he added.
The Ukrainian head of state's visit to Berlin is part of his tour of Europe, after a key international summit was canceled at the US Air Force Base “Ramstein” in Germany. The reason was the decision of US President Joe Biden not to travel due to the hurricane “Milton”.