ALBAWABA- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Kyiv for the first time in two and a half years amidst escalating tensions between Russia and the West.
He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and together they paid tribute to Ukrainian soldiers who had fallen in the war against Russia.
During the visit, Scholz announced a €650 million ($680 million) military aid package, to be supplied in December.
This is part of a larger €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) package previously revealed in October, which includes two IRIS-T air defense systems, armored vehicles, attack drones, 10 Leopard 1 tanks, winter equipment, and generators, as confirmed by a German Defense Ministry spokesperson.
The package also includes hand-held weapons and warming devices to support Ukraine during the winter months.
The delivery of the two IRIS-T systems—one medium-range and one short-range—had already been announced in November. Scholz's visit comes shortly after his controversial phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which faced backlash from Kyiv.
Under Scholz's leadership, Germany has become Ukraine's second-largest military donor after the United States.
However, Scholz has faced criticism for his cautious stance on certain military aid, notably his refusal to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Recently, Scholz also criticized Friedrich Merz, the leader of the CDU/CSU, who is campaigning to replace him in the upcoming February elections, for supporting the delivery of the missiles.
Germany, now Ukraine’s second-largest arms supplier after the U.S., has delivered or promised weapons and military equipment totaling around €28 billion since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
