The EUR 3 billion defense assistance package to Ukraine, which is expected to be unblocked in the coming days, provides for the supply of equipment and materiel in both the short and longer term.
This was stated at a briefing on Monday by the spokesman for the federal government, Steffen Hebestreit, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
According to the German government official, the package mainly includes weapons, some of which must first be manufactured, while the rest is ammunition that can be delivered relatively quickly.
“We are mainly talking about the IRIS-T air defense systems, which can only be manufactured in the next two years before being delivered. We are talking about missiles for the Patriot air defense system, which also must first be manufactured. So it’s a mix of ammunition that can be delivered immediately, as well as ammunition that needs to be ordered now so that it can be delivered in one or two years,” Hebestreit explained.
He clarified that the production lines for the IRIS-T systems are currently very busy, so it is expected that these additional systems will be available for supply in approximately 2027. The production of missiles for the Patriot systems is also quite packed. At the same time, artillery ammunition and other items that are included in the package can be delivered in the coming weeks.
As for financing, after the vote in the Bundestag on Tuesday, the proposal should be submitted to the Ministry of Finance, which should check legal and juridical issues before returning the submission to the parliamentary budget committee. If approved as expected, as Hebestreit noted, there will be no obstacles to allocating the money. Then the Ministry of Defense will decide on the formation of the package itself, which could happen “very quickly”, by the end of March.
“And then we will have to wait and see how long the process will take before some parts of the package can be delivered in the next few months,” the spokesman said.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, Germany has transferred another package of military aid to Ukraine, which includes missiles for air defense systems and artillery ammunition, armored vehicles, UAVs, other vehicles, etc.
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Source: Berlin details EUR 3B military aid package for Ukraine
