German politicians call for government to join US initiative on Patriot supplies to Ukraine

Following the US Congress approval of a reviewed 2023 defence budget on December 21 and announcing the supply of Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, the Secretary-General of the German opposition Christian-Social Union party (CSU) Martin Huber called on the German government to follow suit and also provide Kyiv with these systems. 

Huber noted that the course of the war has shown that it is better to help Ukraine with weapons, so it can resist Russian aggression, according to Sky Over Ukraine.

Therefore, the German government should support Ukraine even more with arms, "in particular Patriot missiles," he said on a TV morning programme, as reported by Der Spiegel

Huber also called for supplying Ukraine with Leopard battle tanks.

Meanwhile, Marie-Agnes Struck-Zimmermann, chairman of the defence committee in the Bundestag of the ruling Free Democratic Party, suggested in the Rheinische Post newspaper a kind of role-sharing with the US in terms of military support.

"The US supplies Patriot missiles, and we need to make an urgent move to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 and Marder BMPs from our stocks together with the Europeans", the politician said.