Germany set to deliver 5,000 helmets to Ukraine

BERLIN

Germany is set to deliver 5,000 military helmets to Ukraine, local media reported on Friday.

Loaded on two trucks, the protective equipment will be handed over to the Ukrainian side, according to dpa news agency.

The German government had pointed out that the delivery of helmets had been officially requested in a letter without providing any specific numbers.

The German offer of helmets has been mocked by Ukrainian politicians, among them Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko who rejected it as “a joke,” saying it had left him “speechless.”

The German government has ruled out delivering lethal weapons to Ukraine, pointing to the country’s restrictive arms export policy, which does not allow sending weapons to conflict regions.

Russia's military intervention in Ukraine entered its second day on Friday, with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops were heading toward the capital Kyiv from several directions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the military intervention on Thursday, just days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighboring country, but wanted to “demilitarize” and "denazify" Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to install a puppet government and said Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.

Tensions started escalating late last year when Ukraine, the US, and its allies accused Russia of amassing nearly 150,000 troops on the border with Ukraine.

They claimed Russia was preparing to invade its western neighbor, allegations consistently rejected by Moscow.