Germany to provide $1.22-billion military support package to Ukraine

[February 16, 2024]  BERLIN (Reuters) - As part of a security agreement signed between Germany and Ukraine, Berlin has prepared a further military support package worth 1.13 billion euros ($1.22 billion) that is focused on air defense and artillery, the German defense ministry said. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shake hands at a press conference in Berlin, Germany, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed the security agreement at a ceremony in the German capital on Friday, the same day that the Munich Security Conference was set to kick off in southern Germany.

"Our security agreement with Ukraine is historic. For the first time in its history, the Federal Republic of Germany is acting as a guarantor state," said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in a statement from the ministry.

The so-called Munich Package includes provisions for 120,000 rounds of 122-millimetre caliber artillery ammunition and an additional 100 IRIS-T SLS missiles this year, as well as a second SkyNext air defense system set to be delivered in 2025.

In addition, 18 more self-propelled howitzers will be provided from industry stocks in 2026 and 2027, including training, spare parts and ammunition.

The Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer is one of the most powerful artillery weapons in Bundeswehr (German military) inventories.

It can hit targets at a distance of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) with standard ammunition and at a distance of up to 100 kilometers with advanced types of ammunition.

($1 = 0.9282 euros)

(Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Kirsti Knolle)

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