Germany to purchase 66 armoured personnel carriers for Ukraine's army

The German government will buy a batch of 66 wheeled armoured personnel carriers from the Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft company and hand them over to Ukraine, German Defence Ministry's press service said in a statement.

The exact delivery time and cost of the batch were not disclosed.

The German government will also purchase 64 multi-purpose vehicles from FFG, DPA news agency reports.

These Swedish-made vehicles have been upgraded at the German facility. Some of them have already been operated by the Bundeswehr.

Previously, Berlin considered Fuchs armored personnel carriers manufactured by German defence concern Rheinmetall as an alternative to FFG's APCs. The DPA notes that the German government opted for the Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft vehicles because of their cost: they are six to seven times lower than the Fuchs price.

On May 13, Berlin announced a $2.95 billion aid package for Ukraine, including 30 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks, 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, four IRIS-T SLM fire units for anti-aircraft defense, and 12 IRIS-T SLS launchers, 18 howitzers, more than 100 armored combat vehicles, and over 200 reconnaissance drones.