Germany on Saturday sent the strongest signal yet of its commitment to backing Ukraine in its battle against Russian occupiers, promising more tanks, armored vehicles and substantial air defense systems in its largest weapons package for Kyiv.
The arms package, totaling 2.7 billion euros, or about $2.95 billion, amounted to roughly as much as Germany’s total military aid to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.
The move was part of a budding effort by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to draw a line under a year of rocky relations over Germany’s hesitancy to provide weapons and solidify a partnership that may prove increasingly critical to maintaining European unity in backing the war.
With elections looming in the United States next year, concern is growing in European capitals that President Biden will become less willing to showcase support for Ukraine, given the potential for Republicans to use the issue against him during the…
This article was written by Erika Solomon and Christopher F. Schuetze and originally published on www.nytimes.com