Over the past few days, Germany, Belgium, and Finland announced aid packages for Ukraine totaling over 1 billion euros, a critical boost to Kyiv's military from Europe as the U.S. continues to squabble over and delay a $60 billion package of its own. While the latest assistance pledged is
Key developments on March 19: * Germany announces aid package for Ukraine worth $540 million * Anti-Kremlin militia claims fighting ongoing in Belgorod Oblast * Gunvor: Russia has lost 600,000 barrels of daily oil-refining capacity due to drone attacks * Shmyhal: Ukraine hopes to get enough shells by April * Borrell proposes using 90%
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth 500 million euros (roughly $540 million) at a Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting in Ramstein, Germany, on March 19.
The initiative, announced by Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz following talks in Warsaw with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, will officially begin operations on March 26.
When faced with questions from German lawmakers on March 13, Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again said "no" to the delivery of the Taurus long-range missile to Ukraine. "Prudence is not something that one can qualify as a weakness. Prudence is something that the citizens of our country are entitled to,
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is exploring ways for Germany to potentially provide Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine while respecting chancellor's "red lines," according to Der Spiegel.
The leaders of Germany, France, and Poland agreed on new initiatives in support of Kyiv, including more weapons purchases and a future coalition on rocket artillery, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reportedly said on March 15 following a Weimar Triangle meeting in Berlin.
The German and French leaders meet amid a growing rift in their public views on how to best help Kyiv repel Russian aggression.
President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram on March 14 that he held a telephone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss further political, economic, and defense cooperation between the two states.
German arms manufacturer plans to open at least four plans in Ukraine to produce artillery shells, military vehicles, gunpowder, and anti-aircraft weapons, the AFP reported on March 14.
Of the 687 lawmakers who participated in the vote, 494 voted against the delivery, with 188 voting in favor and five abstaining.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to "reduce tensions" between Paris and Berlin over Ukraine, Politico reported on March 13.
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she was open to a deal in which London supplies Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles in exchange for Germany backfilling British long-range missile stocks.
The next Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will be held on March 19 at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the U.S. Air Force in Europe's press service told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
An Estonian arms dealer sold laser target markers destined for the Ukrainian military at an inflated price, allegedly making millions of euros at the expense of the German taxpayers, according to an investigation by Estonian newspaper Ekspress and German newspaper Die Welt published on March 5.
An "individual error" resulted in a call between high-ranking German military officers being leaked after one officer joined the meeting from abroad via an insecure line, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at a press conference on March 5.
Russia is ready to expel German journalists in retaliation for any measures taken against Russian journalists in Germany, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed on March 5, according to state-owned media agency RIA Novosti.
The ambassador's summons is related to an alleged leaked recording of talks between high-ranking German military officials about the possible delivery of Taurus long-range missiles, the agency claims.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called the publication of a leaked conversation between German military officers a disinformation attack on March 3, according to German media.
French President Emmanuel Macron was left on his lonesome by his fellow European allies after saying that the possibility of sending Western troops on the ground in Ukraine should not be “ruled out” in the future. Macron made the remarks on Feb. 26 at a gathering of 20 European heads
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are not getting along, and Macron's recent suggestion of a possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine has further fueled the disagreement, Bloomberg reported on March 1, citing unnamed officials familiar with the matter.
The U.K. government has discreetly urged Berlin to supply Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine, as Germany refuses to approve this critical capability, Bloomberg reported on March 1, citing undisclosed sources.
British MP Tobias Ellwood accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of a "flagrant abuse of intelligence" when he mentioned to journalists that the British and French support Ukraine with missile guidance, the Telegraph reported on Feb. 28.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as leaders of Germany, the U.K., and other European NATO member states, have reportedly said they are not considering deploying their troops to Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested the possibility of Western military presence in the country.
Germany has handed over 14,000 155 mm shells, ten Vector reconnaissance drones with spare parts, and other aid in their latest delivery of military aid to Ukraine, the German government said on Feb. 26.
Scholz is reportedly against sending Taurus missiles to Kyiv because he fears the move will draw Germany into the war. Ukraine has received other long-range missiles, such as the Storm Shadow from the U.K. and the French-made SCALP.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed in prison to prevent his exchange with Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian hitman sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany, Anti-Corruption Foundation chair Maria Pevchikh claimed on Feb. 26.
Germany is conducting "discreet negotiations" to procure artillery ammunition from India, which is estimated to have "several hundred thousand rounds" stored in stockpiles, Der Spiegel reported on Feb. 25.
The German Foreign Ministry has officially adopted the Ukrainian transliteration of Kyiv, changing the spelling in the official country directory from the Russian transliteration of Kiew to Kyjiw from Feb. 24.
Ukrainian and Western officials gathered in Berlin on Feb. 23 to discuss how to assist Ukraine with investigating Russian war crimes and bring perpetrators to justice, Ukrainian media outlet Ukrinform reported.
"It would be fatal to say he won't do that. You just have to trust him to do that," Strack-Zimmermann said on the Die Wochentester podcast, as reported by German media on Feb. 23.
The German parliament held two votes on providing long-range weapons to Ukraine on Feb. 22, first rejecting a motion explicitly mentioning Taurus missiles, followed by supporting a motion calling for Germany to send additional long-range weapons.
