Ukraine has received a delivery of the German IRIS-T air defense system, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Tuesday. The handover took place on Tuesday near the Polish-Ukrainian border.
According to the German federal government, the weapon is the most modern air defense system in its possession. It was developed by the German armaments company Diehl Defense from Überlingen on Lake Constance.
The ground-based anti-aircraft system is primarily intended to protect civilian populations by repelling air attacks by the Russian Military. According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, large cities could also be protected against air raids.
By handing over the air defense system Germany is upholding a promise that Chancellor Scholz had already made in the Bundestag at the beginning of June.
Most recently, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht promised an early delivery on Monday. The first handover was originally planned for November, according to Der Spiegel magazine.
Three more Iris-T systems are to be delivered to Ukraine sometime next year, although an exact date is not yet set as the anti-aircraft weapons have yet to be manufactured.
Russia pounded cities across Ukraine during rush hour on Monday morning, killing civilians and knocking out power and heat, in apparent revenge strikes after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a blast on Russia's bridge to Crimea to be a terrorist attack, showing how urgently such protection is needed in Ukraine.
The Iris-T SLM air defense system
The Iris-T SLM air defense system consists of three vehicles: a launch pad on a military truck with space for eight missiles, a radar vehicle and a command vehicle.
The anti-aircraft missiles can hit targets up to 20 kilometers high and 40 kilometers away. Their range is thus significantly greater than, for example, that of shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles such as the Stinger anti-aircraft missiles also supplied by Germany to Ukraine.
Zelensky asks for urgent supply of air defense weapons
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was asking the leaders of the G7 group of nations to urgently supply Ukraine with air defense weapons on Tuesday, after Russia rained down cruise missiles on cities across the country in a new escalation of the war.
The White House said US President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders met virtually to discuss what more they can do to support Ukraine and listened to Zelenskiy, who has called air defense systems his "number 1 priority."
Biden has already promised more air defenses, a pledge that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said would extend the conflict.
"The mood of this summit is already obvious and predictable. The confrontation will continue," Peskov told reporters.
Reuters contributed to this report.