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Germany will send IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine, chancellor says

01 June 2022 14:51 (UTC +04:00)

Germany will send its "most modern air defense system," the IRIS-T, to Ukraine, the country's chancellor said Wednesday, APA reports citing CNN.

"In the coming weeks, we will supply further weapons, for example, the German government has recently decided that we will supply the IRIS-T system, the most modern air defense system that Germany has," Olaf Scholz said during a speech in the German Parliament.

"This will enable Ukraine to protect an entire city from Russian air attacks," he said.

The development comes as senior US administration officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the United States will be sending US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, as part of the country's 11th package of security assistance to Ukraine.

Some context: Germany initially resisted calls to provide weaponry to Kyiv, agreeing only to provide humanitarian help and medical equipment. That approach was in line with Germany's decades-long policy of not supplying lethal weapons to crisis zone.

There was a major U-turn in late April when Germany agreed to deliver anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine.