German, UK defence ministers meet in Berlin to discuss ways to further support Ukraine

German and British defence ministers convened successful Berlin connected Thursday for their inaugural ministerial assembly pursuing nan signing of a subject practice statement past year.

"Today's gathering shows that we not only work together connected important projects, which would only beryllium half nan battle, but besides that we instrumentality them together and rather quickly," said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.

The gathering occurred amid a turbulent negotiated environment, pinch NATO overseas ministers convening successful Turkey to talk a US inaugural aimed astatine substantially expanding defence investments, arsenic nan United States shifts its attraction to information issues beyond Europe.

Concurrently, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a connection from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a nonstop gathering successful Turkey, however, representatives from some nations are group to prosecute successful their first nonstop discussions successful respective years.

UK Defence Minister John Healey noted that Putin's determination to forgo nan gathering pinch Zelenskyy successful Istanbul was significant.

"This is simply a time which exposes Putin for what he is. He says he wants bid but he rejected a afloat ceasefire. He says he wants to extremity fighting, but he continues to onslaught and termination Ukrainian civilians and cities. And he says he wants to talk but he doesn't moreover move up to nan very convention that he called for successful Istanbul today."

Meanwhile, Chairman of nan European Union Military Committee, Robert Brieger, announced that nan bloc is readying to double dense calibre ammunition deliveries to Ukraine this year.

The comments came aft a gathering betwixt EU defence chiefs was held connected Thursday successful Brussels.

“The extremity is to present a 2 cardinal rounds of dense calibre ammunition to your state during nan existent year. So it's astir doubling nan magnitude of nan past year,” said Brieger.

Brieger said nan EU is incentivising personnel states to nutrient much ammunition to execute that goal.

“We effort to group incentives for personnel states to procure more, to nutrient moreover more, utilizing nan contracts laid retired by nan EDA [European Defence Agency],” he said.

“But besides raising caller initiatives, beryllium it financial aliases beryllium it via intensifying nan practice pinch nan Ukraine defence industry,” added Brieger.

Brieger besides said connected nan imaginable resources needed to tackle nan maritime threat posed by nan Kremlin’s protector fleet. The EU subject main noted that nan bloc would person to boost its disposable ships to efficaciously unafraid its waters and protect against immoderate threat.

“When I look astatine nan existing maritime operations and we person 3 of them, successful nan northwest Indian Ocean, two, and 1 successful nan Mediterranean, past we are frankly spoken lacking successful resources,” said Brieger addressing reporters aft nan meeting.

“So erstwhile specified a ngo would beryllium launched, it would beryllium important that done a respective unit sensing and diligent planning, we tin unafraid successful beforehand that we person capable ships, capable airplanes, and capable resources to transportation retired specified a mission, should it beryllium credible.”

Additional sources • AP, EBU