The German government has supplied Ukraine with a further 20 Marder armoured vehicles, a Wisent-1 demining tank and 2,380 155mm shells, among other military equipment, The Kyiv Independent website reported on Wednesday night.
Berlin's announcement came after Germany's Defence Minister Oscar Pistorius pledged a USD 1.4 billion defence aid package for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday, according to news outlets.
Meanwhile, Lithuania said on Wednesday it had delivered fresh security assistance to Ukraine, the official war.ukraine.ua website reported.
The package includes includes 3 million units of 7.62×51 mm ammunition, remote detonation systems and winter equipment, according to the Lithuanian defence ministry.
EU provides EUR 1.5 bn in financial aid to Ukraine
The European Union on Wednesday released a new EUR 1.5 billion tranche of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe reported.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said: “Today's payment of EUR 1.5 billion brings our total macro-financial assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the year to EUR 16.5 billion."
She added that the EU's overall support to Ukraine had reached "EUR 85 billion, military equipment included."
Von der Leyen stated: "We will continue standing by Ukraine, with our proposed further EUR 50 billion in support for the following years, until 2027.”
Ukraine counterattacks Russia in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia
Ukraine on Wednesday pressed ahead with its counteroffensive against Russia's invading army near the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, and towards the port of Melitopol on the Sea of Azov, in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia province, the General Staff in Kyiv reported.
It said on Thursday morning that Ukrainian forces were depleting the "manpower and equipment" of the Russian army.
Russian strikes
Russia on Wednesday carried out three missile attacks, 43 air strikes and over 64 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems, targeting the positions of Ukrainian troops and civilian settlements, according to the military authorities in Kyiv.
Russia also launched 14 Shahed drones against Ukraine, all of which were brought down by air defences, the Ukrainian General Staff said.
These Russian attacks resulted in casualties and injuries among civilians, as well as damage and destruction of civilian facilities, it added.
Ukrainian attacks
Meanwhile, Ukraine on Wednesday responded with air strikes on 11 concentrations of Russian troops, weapons and military hardware, according to officials.
Ukraine also fired missiles into 13 clusters of Russian soldiers, weapons and military equipment, a Russian command post, an air defence system, an ammunition depot and four pieces of artillery, the General Staff in Kyiv said.
Thursday is day 638 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
(pm/gs)
Source: The Kyiv Independent, war.ukraine.ua, RFE/RL, The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, The European Commission
