General: Germany to hand over 10,000 artillery shells to Ukraine in coming days
Germany will hand over 10,000 artillery rounds from its own military stocks to Ukraine in the next coming days, German General Christian Freuding said in an interview with Deutsche Welle (DW) published on March 27.
Ukraine has been facing increasingly severe ammunition shortages, namely due to delays in U.S. assistance caused by disputes in Congress. The lack of shells already had a direct impact on the ground, contributing to the loss of the key front-line city of Avdiivka.
Berlin unveiled a 500-million-euro ($540 million) package, including the 10,000 shells, earlier this month.
Freuding, who coordinates aid for Ukraine at the German Defense Ministry, said this batch is only the first of three stages of expected deliveries to Kyiv.
In the second phase, Berlin agreed to finance the purchase of 180,000 shells through the Czech initiative, the general noted. Prague announced last month that it had identified 800,000 shells abroad that could be bought and sent to Ukraine if other partners provide the necessary funding.
In the final, long-term stage of the plan, Germany entered into a bilateral agreement with an unnamed country to supply Ukraine with roughly 100,000 rounds starting in the last quarter of 20024, according to Freuding.
Initially a hesitant partner, Berlin has become Ukraine's second-largest military donor after the U.S. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany has supplied Ukraine with 17.7 billion euros (around $19 billion) in military assistance as of January.
Read also: German defense minister announces aid package for Ukraine worth $540 million
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