Scholz approves the delivery to Ukraine of an anti-aircraft defense system against the Russian invasion

Follow live the latest news about the war in Ukraine

BERLIN, June 1 (DPA/EP) –

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday approved the delivery to Ukraine of an anti-aircraft defense system to deal with the Russian invasion, triggered on February 24 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Scholz has detailed that it is the Iris-T anti-aircraft defense system from the manufacturer Diehl, the most modern available in Germany. “With this, we are putting Ukraine in a position to protect an entire big city from Russian air strikes,” he said.

He also stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will also receive a tracking radar capable of detecting enemy artillery positions, amid calls from kyiv for the delivery of anti-aircraft defense systems against Russian bombing.

Scholz has also stressed that Germany supports the delivery of multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine announced by the United States, always “according to the technical possibilities” of Berlin, as reported by the German news agency DPA.

Immediately after the start of the war, the German government decided for the first time to supply weapons in a conflict against a nuclear power. So far anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and millions of rounds of ammunition have been delivered.

In recent weeks, the German government had already made two commitments to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine, including 50 Gepard battle tanks with anti-aircraft capacity and seven self-propelled howitzers of the 2000 model, with a range of 40 kilometers, although they have not yet reached their destination, which has led the opposition to repeatedly accuse Scholz of hesitating to make them effective.