Berlin/London, May 17 – German and British defence ministers met in Berlin on Thursday for their first ministerial council, pledging to deepen military cooperation and accelerate support for Ukraine amid ongoing Russian aggression. The meeting follows a bilateral defence agreement signed last year and comes at a time of heightened diplomatic activity, with NATO foreign ministers gathering in Turkey and the European Union vowing to increase ammunition supplies to Kyiv.
“Today’s meeting shows that we not only agree on important projects, but also that we implement them together and quite quickly,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters following talks with UK Defence Minister John Healey.
Healey condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to reject a proposed face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul, where representatives from both countries were due to hold rare direct talks.
“This is a day which exposes Putin for what he is. He says he wants peace but he rejected a full ceasefire. He says he wants to end fighting, but he continues to strike and kill Ukrainian civilians and cities,” Healey said.
Meanwhile, the European Union Military Committee Chairman Robert Brieger said the bloc plans to double its deliveries of heavy calibre ammunition to Ukraine this year, aiming to supply 2 million rounds.
“We try to set incentives for member states to procure more, to produce even more, using the contracts laid out by the European Defence Agency,” Brieger said after a meeting of EU defence chiefs in Brussels.
Brieger also warned of increasing maritime threats from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, calling on EU member states to commit more naval and aerial resources.
“When I look at the existing maritime operations… we are frankly spoken lacking in resources,” he said. “It would be crucial that we secure enough ships, enough airplanes, and enough resources to carry out such a mission, should it be credible.” The German-UK meeting, coupled with NATO and EU efforts, comes as Western allies move to sustain Ukraine’s defence capacity while addressing broader security challenges beyond Europe, amid a strategic recalibration by the United States.
