“I thanked for the powerful defense package, including dozens of Marder armored cars and the Patriot system,” the president said in a statement from his office in Kiev on Friday. Further cooperation to “strengthen the Ukrainian army” was also discussed.
Earlier, Germany, the United States and France had pledged to supply Ukraine with reconnaissance and infantry fighting vehicles to repel the Russian invasion that has been underway since February last year. The Patriot anti-aircraft system is primarily intended for missile defense. The Ukrainian army is almost entirely dependent on Western financial and military support for its defensive struggle. Russia had criticized the announcement as a further escalation step.
German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that in the telephone conversation with Zelenskyi, Scholz reaffirmed “the unbreakable solidarity with Ukraine despite the unleashed aggression of the Russian Federation”. The federal government supported Ukraine bilaterally last year with more than 12 billion euros and will continue on this course in 2023.
(SDA)