HIMARS, tanks, and ammunition: Germany secretly sent massive aid to Ukraine
Photo: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (Getty Images)
This summer, Germany secretly began to transfer a huge batch of military aid to Ukraine, including heavy armored vehicles, reports Merkur.
In late June and early July, Germany almost secretly and unnoticed sent Kyiv another huge military package for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It included 39 tanks supplied by the German defense industry and the Bundeswehr.
Last week Ukraine received 10 more Leopard 1A5 battle tanks and 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles from Germany. This brings the total number of Marder tanks supplied by Germany for the war in Ukraine to 120, and the number of repaired Leopard 1s to 50.
In addition to ammunition for Leopard 1 and Marder, the Ukrainian army's arsenal has been supplemented with two Biber bridge-building tanks, two Dachs engineering tanks, two evacuation tanks, and four Wisent 1 demining tanks.
Germany has also delivered another IRIS-T SLM air defense system (previously three) and another IRIS-T SLS air defense system (previously one) to protect critical infrastructure and cities from Russian air attacks.
Three HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems have also been added to the list of delivered weapons. The Bundeswehr does not have HIMARS in service but has previously transferred four technically very similar multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine.
Germany's assistance to Ukraine
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany has become a leader among European countries in terms of military assistance.
Berlin has supplied Ukrainian defenders with a wide range of weapons, including Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, modern Leopard 2 tanks, PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery systems, and much more.
Recently, the media reported that Germany would provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth EUR 500 million.
