The chairman of the Ukrainian parliament says modern weapons and speedy decisions are a key to the common victory over Russia.
The Ukrainian parliament spokesman Ruslan Stefanchuk said that Berlin might provide Kiev with submarines, despite the ongoing Russian military operation in his country.
The head of the parliament said the supply of the most modern equipment to Ukraine and speedy decision-making on the matter will bring a common victory over Russia over Russia, ahead of a meeting with German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht on Friday.
Stefanchuk expressed hope that IRIS-T surface-to-air missile systems will be delivered to Ukraine.
He said that I do not rule out receiving submarines from Germany, because we are ready to become the eastern defence frontier for the whole of Europe.
Lambrecht stated that her country will continue to do everything to support Ukraine in the long run, not only at this time. He said that we can fight with old weapons from old stocks but new weapons are more effective.
He added that Ukraine expects Germany to provide it with both Marder armored vehicles and Leopard tanks, as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba described last month as Kiev's dream. The Russian military offensive in Ukraine resulted in Germany scrapping its long-held policy against shipping weapons into active conflict zones, and later reversed its position on not providing Kiev with lethal weapons.
Moscow has warned the West not to pump up Ukraine with weapons, arguing that it will only prolong the conflict and cause long-term problems. Russia considers foreign weapons in Ukraine to be legitimate targets.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was unprovoked and has denied that it plans to retake the two republics by force.