The German military will deliver 1,000 anti-tank weaponry and 500 surface-to-air missiles of the “Stinger” class to Ukraine as part of the ongoing Russian assault, the government stated.

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Steffen Hebestreit, a government spokesman, said the weapons would be provided as quickly as possible to help the Ukrainian military. Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that it was Germany’s “duty to support Ukraine to the best of its ability in defending itself against the invading army of Vladimir Putin.”

Earlier on Saturday, Berlin allowed NATO allies the Netherlands and Estonia to send weapons to Ukraine. The Netherlands is sending 400 German-made anti-tank guns, while Estonia has been granted permission to provide artillery from former GDR (East German) inventories.

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The decision is a significant departure for Germany, which had previously refused to transfer lethal weaponry to Ukraine owing to its policy of avoiding sending weapons to conflict zones.

According to the Dutch military ministry, the Netherlands will also send anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy applauded Germany’s decision to deliver weaponry, a significant policy shift for Berlin.

“Keep it up, Chancellor Olaf Scholz! Anti-war coalition in action!” Zelenskyy said on Twitter.

Zelenskyy also praised attempts to mediate an end to the invasion.

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He added in a video message Saturday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have offered to help organise talks, which “we can only welcome that.”

On Friday, the Ukrainian president offered to negotiate a major Russian demand: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and relinquish its ambitions to join NATO. However, efforts to progress any diplomacy appear to be stalling.

“The real fighting for Kyiv is ongoing,” Zelenskyy added, accusing Russia of targeting infrastructure and civilians. “We will win.”