Germany pledges new military aid worth 1.3 billion euros for Ukraine

Germany on Tuesday announced 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) more in military gear for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, including four further IRIS T-SLM air defence systems as well as artillery ammunition.The package was unveiled by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov in Kyiv.Germany is the second biggest contributor of military equipment to Ukraine, and Pistorius's visit to Kyiv was his second since he became defence minister at the start of the year.The IRIS-T systems are highly sought after by Ukraine to shoot down Russian drones and missiles.The latest four pledged by Germany mark the third batch of IRIS-T systems that Berlin is offering to Ukraine since the beginning of the war.Three IRIS-T systems from the first batch have already been delivered, and a fourth will follow in this winter. A second batch of four will arrive in 2024.