BERLIN: Germany will propose help to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses as part of future security guarantees at a meeting of Kyiv’s allies Thursday, a government source told AFP.
Berlin, long the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States, would also offer other weaponry and military training but has shied away so far from promising to send peacekeeping troops.
The German source added that Berlin’s offer would be “subject to three conditions” — first among them that the United States also participates in offering security guarantees.
Secondly, Russia would have to “participate in negotiations” and, thirdly, there would have to be consensus within the coalition government and support from the German parliament.
The source confirmed a report in news magazine Der Spiegel that Germany would aim to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses by 20 percent per year, with regard to the number of weapons systems and their effectiveness.
