Canada and Germany announced new military donations to Ukraine as the allies gather for the Ramstein group meeting in Germany on Sept. 6.
The Ukraine Contact Defense Group (UCDG) met for its 24th meeting as President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in person to lobby for more air defenses and long-range missiles.
On the sidelines of the meeting, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Berlin would deliver an additional 12 self-propelled Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers with a range of over 30 kilometers (under 20 miles) worth 150 million euros ($165 million) to Kyiv.
The guns would come from the industry deliveries rather than standing German military stocks. Six of them are due to arrive by the end of 2024, and the rest will be delivered in 2025, Pistorius said.
The Panzerhaubitze 2000 is a 155 mm self-propelled gun that can load 60 shells in less than 12 minutes. Ukraine currently operates at least 28 of these guns, with 18 more pledged earlier this year.
Germany also pledged to deliver 77 older Leopard 1A5 tanks in cooperation with foreign partners in the near future.
A new defense aid package was also announced by Canada, including 80,840 motors of decommissioned small air-to-surface unguided rockets CRV7, along with 1,300 warheads. The supplies are to be delivered in the coming months, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said, according to CBC.
The first tranche of 2,300 decommissioned CRV7 rocket motors was announced in June.
Ottawa also pledged to assist with the F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots and to provide the decommissioned chassis of nearly 100 M113 and Coyote armored vehicles.
The Ramstein meeting is usually seen as an opportunity for Kyiv's partners to unveil new aid packages. The U.S. said it would soon announce a $250 million defense tranche, while the U.K. pledged 650 Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) worth over $213 million.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
