The defense minister also expressed support for joint projects in arms development with the European Union, saying that Berlin "must be willing to drop its veto right" on the issue of selling German weapons to third countries, the report said.
In late August, German media reported that Ukrainian diplomats had repeatedly asked Germany to provide additional heavy weapons, but so far, without success. The German defense ministry said that the German Bundeswehr needed these weapons to fulfill its obligations in NATO. At the same time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin has been regularly supplying Kiev with "very effective" weapons and vowed to continue the deliveries, but stressed that there should be no escalation.
Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions from a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer
© AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky
Moscow has repeatedly warned that weapon shipments to Kiev only contribute to the crisis, prolonging the conflict and resulting in further victims among civilians, as Ukrainian forces target the republics of Donbass with western arms.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have ramped up lethal weapons supplies to Ukraine.