Ukraine has received additional heavy weapons from Germany for defense against the Russian war of aggression. “The promised Mars II multiple rocket launchers and another three self-propelled howitzers 2000 have been delivered. We keep our word,” said Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) on Tuesday.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed on Twitter that the weapons had arrived. “We guarantee that the Russians will get a hot answer to their aggression and policy of terror and blackmail,” he wrote in German.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov reported on Monday that the first three Gepard anti-aircraft tanks had arrived from Germany. Several tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition were also handed over.
Lambrecht spoke of five Gepard anti-aircraft gun tanks that had been delivered. Overall, Ukraine will receive 30 Gepard systems from the industry with around 60,000 rounds of ammunition, mainly from the Bundeswehr. The three multiple rocket launchers Mars II and then a total of ten self-propelled howitzers 2000 also came from Bundeswehr stocks.
The Medium Artillery Rocket System (Mars) can fire missiles of different modes of action – such as guided rockets with a GPS system or mine-ejecting rockets to block sections of terrain. The launch batteries with a combat load of twelve rockets are mounted on tracked vehicles that can travel at speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour.
As a supplement to these weapon systems, industry will also be supplying a Cobra-type artillery detection radar in September, Lambrecht explained. “The contract has already been signed, and now the training of the Ukrainian soldiers on this highly complex system will begin.” The industry still has to prepare it for delivery. “This will allow our artillery systems to work even faster and more precisely,” promised the minister.
Training on the promised Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft missile system should also begin in a few days. The manufacturing company will be able to deliver “factory new” to Ukraine in the fall.
