Skip next section Allies pledge €21 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine
04/11/2025April 11, 2025
Allies pledge €21 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine
At the Ukraine Contact Group meeting, Ukraine’s allies pledged $21 billion (€23.8 billion) in new military aid as the country continues to come under attack from Russia, British Defense Secretary John Healey announced.
“I am impressed and grateful for the announcements and pledges, for the support packages from partners around the world,” said acting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
The British and German ministers co-chaired an international meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels to coordinate further military assistance to Ukraine.
Earlier, Germany announced new military aid to Ukraine worth €11 billion through 2029.
https://p.dw.com/p/4t0n5
Skip next section Germany’s Pistorius says Russia is still ‘not interested’ in peace
04/11/2025April 11, 2025
Germany’s Pistorius says Russia is still ‘not interested’ in peace
Following a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, acting Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Russia is still not interested in peace.
He added that Russia must understand that Ukraine is capable of continuing to fight.
“Given Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, we must concede (that) peace in Ukraine appears to be out of reach in the immediate future. We will ensure that Ukraine continues to benefit from our joint military support,” he said.
According to Pistorius, Germany will provide Ukraine with more than €11 billion ($12.5 billion) in military aid by 2029 in addition to the funds already pledged.
However, Germany can’t provide Ukraine with new Patriot air defense systems as it is waiting on deliveries of these systems itself, he added.
Pistorius added that it was important that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attended the meeting, even if it was only a virtual participation. Former US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had formerly chaired the regular meetings of Ukraine’s allies throughout the war.
US military support of Ukraine has been called into question since Donald Trump took office in January, and immediately began on the war. Trump has even threatened to pull the plug on US aid deliveries.
https://p.dw.com/p/4t0k9
Skip next section Germany announces further military aid package for Ukraine
04/11/2025April 11, 2025
Germany announces further military aid package for Ukraine
Acting German Defense Minister announced a new from Germany at a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group in Brussels.
According to Pistorius, more guided missiles and ground surveillance radars will be delivered to Ukraine this year.
The package will also include a further 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 300 reconnaissance drones, 25 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 15 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks, 120 Manpads ground-based air defense systems and 14 artillery systems.
In recent days, 30 additional Patriot guided missiles have also been delivered to Ukraine, the minister added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to attack Ukraine and cause an increasing number of civilian casualties, Pistorius said. “There is no sign of any decline in the fighting on Putin’s part. He accepts the deaths of civilians, even children,” he added.
https://p.dw.com/p/4t0Tp
Skip next section Russia’s spy chief says Moscow will discuss more prisoner swaps with US
04/11/2025April 11, 2025
Russia’s spy chief says Moscow will discuss more prisoner swaps with US
Russia will discuss further prisoner swaps with the United States following an exchange earlier this week, the head of Moscow’s foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, has said.
“Dialogue with the new US administration will certainly continue in various directions, including the issue you mentioned,” spy chief Sergei Naryshkin told reporters when asked about future talks on prisoner exchanges.
On Thursday, , who was convicted of “treason” in Russia and she made to a pro-Ukrainian charity.
She was released in exchange for alleged technology smuggler Arthur Petrov, whom the US accused of running a global smuggling ring to export sensitive electronics to the Russian military.
https://p.dw.com/p/4t0MS
Skip next section Trump envoy Witkoff arrives in Russia for meeting with Putin
04/11/2025April 11, 2025
Trump envoy Witkoff arrives in Russia for meeting with Putin
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Axios and Russian news agencies, citing their sources and FlightRadar data, reported earlier that Witkoff had traveled to Russia and was expected to meet with President on Friday.
Peskov said he would announce any meeting Putin had with Witkoff if time for such a meeting appeared in the Russian leader’s schedule.
Trump wants to end the war in Ukraine. According to media reports, he was angry with Putin at the end of March, saying he was “pissed off”.
At the recent NATO foreign ministers’ meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made it clear that Trump would not accept the Russian president’s stalling tactics for much longer.
Most recently, the US tried to broker during the negotiations. While Ukraine agreed to the proposal, Putin set preconditions for such a ceasefire.
https://p.dw.com/p/4sztt
Skip next section Ukraine says Russia launched 39 drones overnight
04/11/2025April 11, 2025
Ukraine says Russia launched 39 drones overnight
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 39 drones and one ballistic missile in attacks over the past day.
The air force shot down 24 drones and another 13 did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, it said in a statement on social media.
It did not specify what happened to the remaining two drones or the missile.
https://p.dw.com/p/4szzB
Skip next section Defense ministers meet at NATO headquarters to talk Ukraine support
04/11/2025April 11, 2025
Defense ministers meet at NATO headquarters to talk Ukraine support
Defense ministers from the so-called Ukraine Defense Contact Group, once led by the United States, are meeting at headquarters in Brussels.
The meeting will be chaired by acting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his British counterpart John Healey.
The two ministers are standing in for former US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who had initiated and led the so-called Ramstein Group of some 50 countries in support of Ukraine, up until the Trump administration took office in January.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is expected to give ministers an update on the battle situation on the front lines and outline what defense equipment his armed forces most urgently need at the moment.
Early on Friday, the British Ministry of Defense announced a £450 million (€517 million or $588 million) “surge” of military assistance to Ukraine. The military aid package will be delivered by British and Ukrainian suppliers.
Britain said a joint effort with Norway would provide hundreds of thousands of military drones, radar systems and anti-tank mines, as well as repair and maintenance contracts to keep Ukraine’s armored vehicles on the battlefield.
https://p.dw.com/p/4szrn
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage04/11/2025April 11, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Defense ministers from the so-called Ukraine Contact Group are meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Meanwhile, US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia.
We will follow what’s happening there as well as other events related to and diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.
https://p.dw.com/p/4sznw
The post Germany announces fresh military aid to Ukraine appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
