Germany and allies to send major military aid package to Ukraine using new NATO supply line

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BERLIN (AP) — Germany announced on Wednesday that it will work with a group of Ukraine’s Western backers to supply a package of military aid to the war-ravaged country worth up to $500 million using a new NATO supply line.

Earlier this month, NATO started coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine after the Netherlands said that it would provide air defense equipment, ammunition and other military aid worth 500 million euros ($582 million).

Sweden announced the following day that it would contribute $275 million to a joint effort along with its Nordic neighbors Denmark and Norway to provide $500 million worth of air defenses, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and spare parts.

Germany’s foreign and defense ministries said the support is focused on equipment like “critical air defense capabilities. These are urgently needed to defend against Russia’s ongoing air strikes, which are killing more and more civilians throughout Ukraine.”

The United Nations has said that Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.

Two deliveries of equipment, most of it bought in the United States, were scheduled for this month, although the Nordic package was more likely to arrive in September. Germany did not name the group of countries it would be working with.

The equipment is supplied based on Ukraine’s priority needs on the battlefield. NATO allies then locate the weapons and ammunition and send them on.

Germany has delivered or pledged military support to Ukraine worth around 40 billion euros ($47 billion) since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.