Boris Pistorius, German Defense Minister, stated that Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defense, and therefore Berlin should increase the supply of air defense equipment.
Germany plans to increase its supply of air defense systems, having already provided Ukraine with three Patriot systems and several IRIS-T systems. Boris Pistorius emphasized that strengthening air defense before winter will help protect Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure.
The head of the German Ministry of Defense stated that Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defense system before winter. In an interview with DW, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that this should help the Ukrainian government protect its infrastructure.
What did Pistorius say about enhancing Ukraine’s air defense?
The German defense minister said that Germany should strengthen Ukrainian defense capabilities, especially air defense. To date, Germany has provided Kyiv with three Patriot systems and several IRIS-T systems.
“As Ukrainian supporters, we must increase supplies because air defense is critical.” Pistorius emphasized the importance of protecting civilian and energy infrastructure in the run-up to winter.
At the same time, the German minister refused to answer the question about potential support for arming F-16 aircraft coming from France.
“I can’t comment on that right now because, as you know, we don’t have F-16s. We need to verify whether we will present weapons for use with the F-16,” the German defense minister said.
Earlier, the German defense industry, together with the Bundeswehr, secretly provided Ukraine with a large military aid package. It included, among other things, IRIS-T SLM and IRIS-T SLS air defense systems, three HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, combat vehicles, etc. Germany remains one of the strongest of Kyiv’s allies in terms of military assistance to repel Russian war aggression.
Following the announcement in late July, on Sunday, August 4, Ukraine officially confirmed that it had received the first F-16 fighter jets, which will defend Ukrainian skies from the ongoing Russian missile and drone attacks.
