BERLIN

Germany's defense minister announced Wednesday that Berlin will supply Ukraine with additional weapons systems to strengthen the country's air defenses amid increased Russian attacks.

Boris Pistorius told a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that Western allies must maintain their resolve and provide more weapons to Ukraine, as the latest battlefield developments show that Ukraine is successfully defending itself.

"You can count on Germany. We will continue and expand our support for Ukraine. With new contracts, Germany will provide additional support amounting to over €2 billion ($2.3 billion)," Pistorius told the meeting in Brussels, which was also attended by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal.

“The package addresses a number of urgent requirements of Ukraine. It provides air defense systems, Patriot interceptors, radar systems and precision guided artillery, rockets and ammunition,” Pistorius said, adding that Germany will also deliver two additional IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine, including a large number of guided missiles and shoulder-fired air defense missiles.

Pistorius, who co-hosted the Brussels meeting with his British counterpart John Healey, also said Germany is taking steps to expand cooperation between the German and Ukrainian defense industries and planning to launch a comprehensive project to modernize weapon systems already delivered to Ukraine and extend their service lives.