Germany to deliver advanced air defence to Ukraine soon

Berlin: Germany will supply Ukraine with the first of four advanced IRIS-T air defence systems that could defend against drone attacks, German defence minister Christine Lambrecht announced during his visit to Odesa on Saturday.

The city was, however, in threat of Russian attacks, and there were air raid sirens when Lambrecht held talks with Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov in an underground bunker, Reuters reported.

The German minister extended her visit to neighbouring Moldova for the meeting with the Ukraine minister.

Lambrecht told ARD television, "In a few days, we will deliver the very modern IRIS-T air defence system. It is very important for drone defence in particular," Reuters quotes.

In recent weeks, there have been increased drone attacks on Ukraine by Iranian-made kamikaze drones. These attacks cost many lives and destroyed infrastructure.

It was in May, headlines carried Berlin's plan to send the IRIS-T surface-to-air defence system, which costs 150 million euros ($147 million) a unit.

Curiously, the German defence itself does not own the weapon system at present, Reuters reports.

While her meeting with Moldovan defence minister Anatolie Nosatii, Lambrecht said that the West must not deter from arming Ukraine, yielding to threats from Russia that it would use nuclear weapons.

"We have to be very careful. But we mustn't let ourselves be paralysed," Reuters quoted her.

Ukraine has urged Germany to send offensive weapons such as modern tanks that could take Russian forces. So far, the German administration has resisted such calls and stated that such moves could escalate the situation. It maintained that no countries had sent tanks more advanced than old Soviet stock sent by former Warsaw Pact countries, Reuters reports.