Germany to supply Ukraine with more air defence systems to protect grain routes

Germany prepares to provide Ukraine with additional air defence systems.

Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Germany will help Ukraine to enhance its air defence. New systems will help protect grain export routes from potential Russian attacks.

The new German aid package includes another IRIS-T system and more than a dozen Gepard anti-aircraft guns covering cargoes heading to Romania along the country’s southern coast.

The air defence systems are expected to arrive in Ukraine by the end of this year, with further deliveries of IRIS-T to follow as soon as they are produced.

Source: Vessel tracking data / Bloomberg

German MP Markus Faber, a member of the defence committee of the lower house of the Bundestag, confirmed that Ukraine will receive more IRIS-T systems, Gepard launchers and ammunition.

The Gepard guns range 4 kilometres (2.4855 miles), while the more powerful and technically sophisticated IRIS-T units can open up a protective shield with a radius of as much as 40 kilometres.

The UK announced last month that it was providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to monitor Russian activity in the Black Sea and that RAF aircraft would conduct flights over the area to deter Russia from carrying out strikes against civilian vessels carrying grain.

Russian invading forces, in their missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, were explicitly targeting port infrastructure, grain storage and export routes.