Germany's support is in line with its commitment to "reliably and actively support Ukraine." "We will also provide nearly 50 missiles for IRIS-T systems," he said, noting that the supply of weapons to Ukraine is best kept under the leadership of the United States,

The U.S. is expected to announce $500 million in military aid for Ukraine on Thursday at a final gathering of President Joe Biden's weapons pledging conferences, meetings Kyiv says have been critical to its defense against Russia.

Washington and Berlin pledged more aid for Ukraine as allies of the embattled nation gathered with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky at the US military's Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday to discuss aid.