Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States together will supply ten MARS II (M270) multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine.

This was announced by Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) after a meeting of the Ukraine contact group in Brussels, which coordinates arms deliveries to Kyiv.

"This is an extensive package with long-range artillery weapons, just like Ukraine needs now," Lambrecht said.

The Bundeswehr will provide three launchers with "several hundred missiles" from its own stocks, the United Kingdom will also provide three, and the United States will provide four systems.

"With this levy, I have gone to the limit of what I can do in order not to endanger the fact that we can no longer guarantee the defense of the state and the alliance as the Bundeswehr,"

Thomas Gutschker

Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.

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Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced the delivery of multiple rocket launchers in the Bundestag at the beginning of June;

in government circles at the time there was talk of four systems.

London and Washington had also promised this type without naming a number.

It is an upgraded variant of the MARS system, which was procured at the end of the Cold War and was intended to be used against larger tank formations.

The Bundeswehr owns forty of them.

The current announcement is enough to equip a battery with eight launchers and two backup systems.

However, the rockets supplied should be used up quickly.

The MARS II system can shoot 84 kilometers with precision-guided missiles and hit targets with an accuracy of up to seven meters.

This range is "responsible",

Lambrecht said when asked whether Ukraine could also use it to attack targets in Russia.

The training should start in June, so that the systems could be delivered to the Ukraine at the end of July or beginning of August.

“War is not just a numbers game”

After the Contact Group meeting, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin thanked Germany for this contribution.

For his part, he announced that the United States would release another €1 billion package of arms aid to Kyiv.

"That includes precision guided missiles, 18 more M777 howitzers, tactical vehicles to tow them, and 36,000 155mm caliber rounds," Austin said.

In addition, Ukraine will get two more Harpoon-type coastal defense systems, digital radios and night vision devices.

As host of the Contact Group, Austin said the participating countries had collectively pledged nearly 100 more artillery pieces;

He specifically singled out Canada, Poland and the Netherlands.

After the meeting, it remained uncertain to what extent the deliveries would meet the Ukrainian government's requests.

Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said earlier this week that the country needs 1,000 155mm howitzers, 300 multiple rocket launchers, 500 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles and 1,000 drones to achieve "parity" in heavy weapons with Russia.

The commitments lag far behind.

However, Austin insisted that he did not know this information.

The partners are focused on the needs that Ukraine itself has identified and reported to them.

The American Chief of Staff Mark Milley gave a few examples.

For example, Ukraine asked for equipment for ten artillery battalions, and they delivered twelve, a total of 260 systems.

America alone has also provided almost half a million artillery shells.

Kyiv had requested 200 tanks, 237 had been delivered;

for armored personnel carriers there are 300 instead of the requested 200 vehicles.

Milley put the number of anti-tank missiles at 97,000 – “more than there are tanks in the world”.

However, it appeared that this information was based on a request from President Zelenskyy three months ago.

Milley admitted that Russia significantly outnumbers Ukraine in the number of weapon systems.

"But war is not just a numbers game," he said.

Russia uses its artillery systems in "mass fire", which is not necessarily very effective militarily, but causes great destruction.

The Ukrainians, on the other hand, are much more experienced and have already inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.

Russia has lost twenty to thirty percent of its troops.

"That's a lot," he added.