The German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv today, DW reported.
Boris Pistorius met with Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Reznikov shared a photo of himself holding a scale model of a German-made Leopard 2 tank next to Pistorius on Twitter with an intriguing commentary.
“The ‘first’ Leopard 2 has arrived in Kyiv. There will be more of them. Thank you to Bundeskanzler and my colleague Boris Pistorius and the German people. The tank coalition is marching… to victory!” Reznikov wrote.
Three EU countries to deliver up to 178 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine – Bloomberg
The German Defense Minister announced in Kyiv that Leopard 2 A6 main battle tanks would be available for Ukraine by the end of March.
https://twitter.com/BMVg_Bundeswehr/status/1623020280804216850
Furthermore, Pistorius confirmed that Ukraine will get 178 Leopard 1 battle tanks on top of Leopard 2 tanks.
“I realize how proud we can all be, Germany included, of what we’re achieving here,” Pistorius said in Kyiv. “After the US and together with the UK, Germany is Ukraine’s biggest supporter.”
Germany’s Scholz sent Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after “pressure from all sides” – MP
Apart from meeting senior Ukrainian officials, the German Defense Minister met with Ukrainian soldiers operating the German-made anti-aircraft gun tank Gepard which is stationed in Kyiv to intercept aerial attacks from Russia. Pistorius said it was impressive to see how quickly Ukrainian troops had mastered the German military gear, and how much it was helping Ukrainian defensive operations.
“Ukraine must win this war. The world without Putin would be a better place to live in,” Pistorius told the German reporter in a short interview with the Bild when he arrived in Kyiv.
Related:
- Portugal to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine – PM
- Germany approves Leopard 1 delivery to Ukraine, wants purchase back Gepards from Qatar for Ukraine – media
- Fighter jets, long-range missiles are Ukraine’s priority at Munich Security Conference
- Only “psychological barriers” separate Ukraine from western jets – foreign minister
- Russia buys US-made components for electronic warfare systems through Chinese, Turkish companies – Russian media
- Ukraine to adopt new transparency laws to fight corruption in Defense Ministry
