German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the war in Ukraine has entered a “potentially decisive phase.”In an interview with Der Spiegel on Thursday, Pistorius said the upcoming NATO summit is expected to approve a €40 billion ($43 billion) support fund for Ukraine, with Germany contributing around €12 billion ($13.7 billion).JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.He said that Ukraine urgently needs funding to expand domestic weapons production and sustain its defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion.“Ukraine needs money to produce weapons and to defend itself against Russia. I see it as our common responsibility not to let up,” Pistorius said.Pistorius’s remarks echoed those from Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who said in a recent interview that Ukraine has regained the initiative on the battlefield but “[needs] the next level of aid to be able to finish the job” before Russia adapts.Pistorius also said Germany’s armed forces are significantly more combat-ready than they were in 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.According to Pistorius, although capability gaps remain and some ordered equipment has yet to be delivered, the Bundeswehr has improved substantially over the past three years.He said Germany has also expanded personnel, intensified military training, increased defense production, and developed new capabilities – particularly in drone warfare – drawing heavily on lessons from Ukraine’s battlefield experience.