Germany to send additional Patriot system to Ukraine
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Berlin has supplied a broad range of additional weaponry, including artillery and armored battle vehicles.
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Patriot missile launchers acquired from the US are seen deployed in Warsaw, Poland, on February 6, 2023. (AP)
Germany will provide an extra Patriot air defense system to Ukraine to strengthen its struggling military and help it defend against escalating Russian aerial strikes, Berlin announced Saturday.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius alleged that "Russian terror against Ukrainian cities and the country's infrastructure is causing immeasurable suffering," adding that this was "jeopardizing people's energy supply and destroying the operational readiness of the Ukrainian armed forces."
This will be Berlin's third Patriot system sent to Kiev, with the Defense Ministry stating that the decision was made at the request of the Ukrainian government and in consultation with partners.
The statement comes as Kiev struggles against Moscow's soldiers, hampered by a lack of foreign help, as well as manpower and ammunition scarcity.
Russia has stepped up its aerial strikes on Ukraine. On Thursday, Kiev saw a "dark day" in the history of Ukrainian power-generating company Centrenergo, as it reported the complete loss of its generation capacity due to the destruction of the Trypilska thermal power plant (TPP), the largest facility in the Kiev Region.
Following the commencement of the Ukraine war in 2022, Germany became Ukraine's second-largest donor of military aid, after the US.
However, significant US funding for Kiev has stalled due to political disputes in Congress.
In addition to the Patriots, Berlin has supplied a broad range of additional weaponry, including artillery and armored battle vehicles.
The Defense Ministry stated that the transfer of the new Patriot system from German military stockpiles will begin immediately.
Despite Germany supplying billions of euros in military equipment to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced criticism in recent months for refusing to accept the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles for fears they may strike precise Russian targets.
Ukraine suffered 166K dead, injured in its counteroffensive: MoD
Around 166,000 Ukrainian troops were either killed or severely injured as a result of the counteroffensive launched by the Ukrainian regime earlier, a senior source in the Russian Defense Ministry told media outlets.
"It should be recalled that the result of the previous counteroffensive plan by Commander-in-Chief Zelenskyy in 2023, which he mildly characterized as 'not so successful,' was the death and severe injuries of more than 166,000 Ukrainian soldiers, as well as the loss of 789 tanks, 2,400 other armored vehicles, and 132 aircraft," the source told reporters, according to Sputnik.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the German newspaper BILD that his government is already planning a new counteroffensive against Russian forces, which will include plans for the destruction of the Crimean Bridge. The Bridge links the Crimean Peninsula to the rest of mainland Russia and was opened to traffic in 2018.
However, Russian officials believe that Zelensky's plots for another counteroffensive will end in a complete disaster for Kiev and mark the final defeat of Ukrainian armed forces.
"Due to such non-trivial approaches in military planning, there is no doubt that the implementation of Zelensky's new plan for a counteroffensive will end in a complete disaster for Ukraine with the final defeat of the armed forces of Ukraine and the beginning of the path to peace on Russian terms," the source told reporters.
"Kiev compensates the huge shortage of military personnel with new cannon fodder, promoting the law on mass forced mobilization of citizens," the source added.
