Germany has approved the delivery of 2,700 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, sources in the Economy Ministry said on Thursday.
The weapons in question are Soviet-designed “Strela” missiles from the stocks of the former East German armed forces.
The deliveries will come on top of the 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 “Stinger” surface-to-air missiles that Berlin had already announced it was sending to Ukraine.
Earlier since the conflict began, the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reversed years of highly restrictive arms export policies and allowed direct weapons deliveries to Ukraine to help fight back Russian forces.
It was Germany’s “duty” to support Ukraine in defending its territory, Scholz said, inspite of refusing to export any arms to war zones or allow third countries to send German-made arms to such areas for years.
Scholz also signaled a sea-change in German defence policy in the past week by giving a massive financial boost to the army.
Scholz said in the Bundestag on Sunday that 100 billion euro (113 billion dollars) would be made available as a special fund for the Bundeswehr armed forces.
German defence manufacture, Reinmetall, said it expected to create between 1,000 and 3,000 new jobs as a result of the plans to beef up defence spending, chief executive, Armin Papperger, said.
Papperger said Düsseldorf based Rheinmetall received its first order for several thousand new helmets earlier.
He said ammunition stocks could be increased significantly within six to 12 months.
He’s optimistic that enough raw materials are available for production, noting that last year, warehouses were stocked with goods worth around one billion euro, including steel, aluminium and specialised computer chips.
