The U.S. and Germany have announced fresh tranches of military aid for Ukraine as Western governments try to bat away concerns over sustained backing for Kyiv’s now years-long fight against Moscow.
The U.S. is the single-largest provider of military aid to Ukraine with Germany coming in second. Ukraine is heavily reliant on Western aid deliveries against Russia which quickly placed its defense industry on a war footing after it launched its full-scale invasion, and has received help from allies like China, North Korea and Iran, according to Western officials.
But concerns over whether former President Donald Trump will be reelected to the White House in November, following months of political infighting between sections of the GOP and the Democrats over Ukraine aid in Congress earlier this year, have raised questions over the future of large military aid packages. Trump has previously expressed frustration over NATO allies who he accuses of taking advantage of American security largesse in Europe.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last month that the Kremlin was wrong to believe global support for Kyiv would wither over time. However, a draft budget for 2025, seen by Reuters earlier this month, suggested Berlin planned to halve its military aid for Ukraine next year.
Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks operated by Ukrainian tank crews on February 23, 2024, near Klietz, Germany. Berlin has now delivered eight more Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks to Ukraine in a joint initiative with Denmark, figures updated by the German government on Monday show.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
In June, the G7 nations, made up of major international democratic countries, said they had agreed alongside the European Union to use the interest generated on frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war effort.
The aid comes off the back of NATO’s Washington summit, which produced numerous pledges of military aid for Ukraine.
Berlin has now delivered eight more Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks to Ukraine in a joint initiative with Denmark, figures updated by the German government on Monday show.
Germany has also delivered 21,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine’s Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, according to Berlin’s figures. Germany has delivered 52 Gepards to Ukraine—along with spare parts—which Kyiv has wielded largely to shoot down incoming Iranian-designed Shahed drones.
Ukraine has received a further 10 ground surveillance radars, nearly 25,000 additional combat helmets, two armored recovery vehicles, ten unmanned surface vessels (USVs), and a field hospital, according to the German tally.
“Together, we are stronger!” Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Tuesday, announcing the deliveries on X.
On Monday, the U.S. Defense Department announced fresh military aid for Ukraine, worth around $200 million. The package largely focuses on air defense missiles, artillery ammunition, and anti-tank weapons, the Pentagon said.
The U.S. additionally announced a “significant package” of around $1.5 billion to prop up Ukraine’s long-term defenses, including funding for maintaining Ukraine’s equipment already donated by Washington as well as further resources for air defenses, artillery and anti-tank capabilities.
Included in this package are munitions for U.S.-donated National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, additional air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as several types of artillery and mortar rounds.
“The men and women of our armed forces have been working around the clock to get those weapons and that equipment into Ukraine as quickly as possible,” White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told reporters on Monday.
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