In an interview with Welt Am Sonntag, the head of the special headquarters for Ukraine under the German Ministry of defence, Christian Freuding, spoke about the immediate plans of states to support Ukraine. By the end of 2023, Germany will transfer 45 Gepard air defence systems to Ukraine, 30 of which are in collaboration with the United States. 15 Gepards will be sent to Ukraine in the next few weeks. There are 2 additional IRIS-Ts on the same list. The transfer date is not yet known.
Christian Freuding stated that Russia should not win this war, and Ukraine's victory will be a return to internationally recognised borders:
"It's clear to me that our rules-based order is at stake, and we must help strengthen it. Russian aggression must not succeed, and Ukraine must remain an independent, free state."
"Of course, Ukraine should strive to restore its territorial integrity and recapture the territories occupied by Russia. It remains to be seen whether all this will happen in 2023," Freuding said, adding that so far, Ukraine lacks air defence systems.
By the way, some time ago, the Pentagon ordered a batch of Gepards for Ukraine from Global Military Products. The contract amount is $118 million.
