Germany announces $3 billion military aid package for Ukraine ahead of expected Zelenskyy visit- Test Headline

BERLIN (AP) — Germany will provide Ukraine with additional military aid worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition, the government said Saturday.

The announcement came on the eve of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first visit to Germany since Russia invaded his country last year.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Berlin wanted to show with the latest package of arms “that Germany is serious in its support” for Ukraine.

“Germany will provide all the help it can, as long as it takes,” he said.

Zelenskyy’s expected weekend visit — still not publicly confirmed by German officials for security reasons — is regarded in Berlin as a sign that relations between Ukraine and Germany have improved markedly after a rocky patch.

Kyiv has long been suspicious of Germany’s reliance on Russian energy and support for the Nord Stream gas pipelines circumventing Ukraine, defended by then Chancellor Angela Merkel.