German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a news conference during a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defence system, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, following pleas from Kyiv and German opposition parties to step up heavy weapons deliveries.
Scholz said Germany had been "delivering continuously since the beginning of the war", pointing to more than 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 grenades and over 5,000 anti-tank mines sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.
"Most recently, the government has decided that we will deliver the most modern air defence system that Germany has in the form of the IRIS-T," Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag.
A security source told Reuters last month that Germany was considering supplying IRIS-T SLM medium-range surface-to-air defence systems to Ukraine.
Responding to critics in his speech to parliament, Scholz said his government had responded to the Russian attack with a "massive change of policy in Germany" by opting to send heavy weapons into a war zone.
Ukraine's requests for heavy weapons intensified in recent weeks when Moscow turned its fiercest firepower on the country's east after failing to take the capital, Kyiv.
Scholz said talks were continuing with Germany's partners on ways to further arm Ukraine against the Russian attack.
On Tuesday, the chancellor announced that Germany would deliver infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) to Greece so that the government in Athens can pass on Soviet-style weapons to Ukraine.
(Reporting by Rachel More and Miranda Murray; Editing by Nick Macfie)
