Germany has pledged a further 1.3 billion euros ($1.42 billion) in military aid for Ukraine that will include another four powerful IRIS-T air-defense systems as well as artillery ammunition, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced during a visit to Kyiv on November 21.
Germany, the second-largest contributor of defense assistance to Kyiv after the United States, has already provided Ukraine with three modern IRIS-T systems, the last of them delivered last month.
Pistorius, who arrived in Ukraine early on November 21 on a surprise visit to reaffirm continued military aid to Ukraine's war effort from Berlin, announced the fresh package of military aid for Ukraine after a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov.
Earlier, Pistorius, whose visit coincided with the 10th anniversary of the start of the Euromaidan protests, laid flowers at Maidan Square in central Kyiv.
"I am here again, firstly to pledge further support, but also to express our solidarity and deep bond and also our admiration for the courageous, brave and costly fight that is being waged here," Pistorius said on X.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Pistorius's visit, his second since becoming defense minister earlier this year, comes a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's trip to Ukraine, during which he reiterated that America was in "for the long haul" in its support for Ukraine as it continues to battle Russian troops.
Washington on November 20 announced a $100 million package of weapons and equipment for Kyiv. The United States has given tens of billions of dollars in military and other aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion in February last year.
The visits by Pistorius and Austin to Ukraine came amid an increase in Russian air strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets as the war-wracked country braces for an expected rise in attacks on the country's energy infrastructure during the cold season.
On November 21, Russian troops launched four missile strikes on Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk. One civilian was killed and six others were wounded in the strikes, which hit the main hospital in the city of Selydove and the Kotlyarevska mine, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
"Two hospital buildings were damaged and six civilians were wounded," Klymenko said, adding that one person was killed and four administrative buildings were destroyed in the strike on the mine.
All 39 miners that were underground at the time of the strike have been brought to the surface, he added.
WATCH: Ukraine marks the 10th anniversary of the Euromaidan protest movement that erupted after then-President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an EU Association Agreement. Massive crowds of pro-European demonstrators occupied Kyiv's central square for months to oppose Yanukovych's plan for closer economic ties with Russia.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
'A Turning Point': A Decade After Euromaidan, Ukraine's Fight For Freedom Continues
Separately, the military said Ukraine's air defenses shot down 10 out of 11 Iranian-made drones and one cruise missile launched by Russia early on November 21.
"An Iskander-K cruise missile and 10 attack UAVs were destroyed by air-defense forces," the military said, adding that Russia also launched four S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles.