Germany to hand over first long-range missiles to Ukraine by end of July

Germany will hand over the first long-range weapons systems to Ukraine by the end of July. This was stated by Major-General Christian Freuding, who heads the special staff for Ukraine at the German Defence Ministry, in an interview with ZDF.

According to him, this delivery will significantly strengthen the Ukrainian air defence system. Freuding specified that the corresponding agreement between the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine was signed on 11 July, and the programme itself started back in May at the initiative of Germany.

The deliveries will be regular and their number will reach high triple digits," he said.

Freuding emphasised the need to transfer to Ukraine systems capable of striking deep into Russian territory - military depots, airfields and command posts. Also, according to him, active negotiations are underway to transfer Patriot systems to Ukraine, which Germany intends to buy from the USA.

The newspaper also recalls that Berlin finances the production of long-range weapons directly on the territory of Ukraine - this agreement was reached back in spring. At the same time, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed that military assistance to Ukraine would be expanded as diplomatic ways to resolve the war had been exhausted.