Berlin, 5 January 2023 (dpa/MIA) – Germany and the Unites States are to supply Ukraine with armoured personnel carriers, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Joe Biden announced in a joint statement issued after a telephone call.

Germany will also provide Ukraine with a Patriot anti-aircraft battery for air defence, according to the statement. The decision comes after Washington promised Kiev a Patriot anti-aircraft system last month.

The armoured vehicles in question are Marder infantry fighting vehicles, developed for the Bundeswehr more than 50 years ago. Berlin did not specify how many vehicles would be supplied or when.

The US is sending so-called Bradley tanks, the first Western-designed infantry fighting vehicles that Ukraine will receive. So far, only Soviet models have been delivered by Eastern European countries.

Ukraine has already received anti-aircraft, transport and armoured recovery vehicles from Western manufacturers.

The announcement follows a French decision earlier this week to supply reconnaissance vehicles described as “light tanks.”

Ukraine has repeatedly requested the delivery of German Leopard 2 main battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles. Scholz previously pointed to the fact that other NATO allies had also not provided heavy weapons.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck held out the prospect of new military commitments for Ukraine on Thursday.

Habeck promised a quick decision by the government during a visit to Norway. Weapons deliveries would be “adapted to the requirements of the battlefield,” he said.

For the German government, there have always been two decision-making criteria on the issue: Unity with partners and military utility on the battlefield, he said.

“That seems to be the case in this instance. And that is why the Federal Government will now quickly discuss this situation and then make decisions accordingly,” he said.

During a press conference with her British counterpart in London, Baerbock warned that Germany and its allies must not leave any doubt about support for Kiev and must look at where more military support is possible.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described France’s decision to supply AMX-10 RC reconnaissance vehicles as a “clear signal” to other Western nations. “There is no rational reason why tanks of Western manufacture have not been supplied to Ukraine thus far,” he said.