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The German government on Friday said it plans to release more than €1 billion in military aid for Ukraine, amid complaints by Kyiv it is not receiving heavy weapons from Berlin.
The funds will feature in a supplementary budget for this year.
In total, taking into account all countries, Berlin has decided to increase its international aid in the defence sector "to two billion euros" with "the largest part being planned in the form of military aid in favour of Ukraine", a government spokeswoman told AFP.
This envelope of €2bn ($2.16bn) "will go mainly to Ukraine", Finance Minister Christian Lindner confirmed on Twitter.
The funds must be used by Ukraine to mainly finance purchases of military equipment.
The move follows growing criticism from Ukraine, and some EU partners such as Poland and the Baltic States, of an apparent lack of support in terms of armaments to Kyiv.
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Ukrainian Nicolai, 41, says goodbye to his daughter Elina, 4, and his wife Lolita, on a train bound for Poland fleeing from the war at the train station in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP Photo -
A damaged Russian artillery tank is seen, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Trostianets, Sumy region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Oksana Kolesnikova cries during the funeral of her son Anatoliy Kolesnikov, 30, a territorial defense soldier who was killed by Russian soldiers in Irpin, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo -
US actor and director Liev Schreiber prepares meals in the kitchen of the 'World Central Kitchen', for war refugees from Ukraine staying in Przemysl, Poland. EPA -
A Ukrainian boy musician plays his sax to entertain citizens in a square, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Dinipro, Ukraine. Reuters -
The turret of a destroyed tank near the village of Zalissya, north-east of Kyiv. AFP -
An unexploded shell in a field in Teterivka, near Kyiv. Reuters -
A building damaged during fighting in Mariupol, which is holding out against the Russian invasion. AP Photo -
A soldier from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic during fighting in Mariupol. AP Photo -
A tank destroyed in the village of Termakhivka, Kyiv region. Reuters -
The main station in Dnipro, central Ukraine, where a city official said the remains of more than 1,500 Russian soldiers were being kept in its morgues. AFP -
A torn Ukrainian flag hangs in front a damaged apartment building in Mariupol. Reuters -
A Ukrainian child seeking asylum in the US is driven on a bus to the border from Tijuana, Mexico. Reuters -
Brothers in arms of serviceman Taras Bobanych, who was killed during the fighting with Russia, carry his portrait and coffin at his funeral in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP -
From left to right; Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Latvian President Egils Levits and Estonian President Alar Karis pose for a picture before a meeting in Kyiv. Reuters -
Local residents shelter in the basement of a residential building amid shelling in Lysychansk, in the Luhansk region. AFP -
Local residents view a destroyed car next to a multi-storey building in Lysychansk. AFP -
Ukrainian artillery shells Russian troops' position on the front line near Lysychansk. AFP -
Natalya Verbova, 49, and her son attend the funeral of her husband Andriy Verbovyi, 55, who was killed by Russian soldiers while defending Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP -
The father and a friend of Anatoliy Kolesnikov, 30, who was killed by Russian soldiers in his car trying to leave Irpin, mourn his death outside the morgue in Bucha. AP -
Pedestrians walk past artwork by the LBWS street art collective on a street in Odesa. AFP -
Engineers inspect damage to the bridge that connects Kyiv with Irpin. AP -
The mark of a shell is seen on a street in Irpin. AP -
A boy shows the shell of a bullet in Bucha. AP -
Cemetery worker Artem, exhausted, looks at the sky while working on the grave of Andriy Verbovyi, who was killed by Russian soldiers while serving in Bucha territorial defense. AP -
Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, with her son Oleg Trubchaninov, 46, inside the room of her son Vadym, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers on March 30 in Bucha. AP -
A relative cries after the body of a civilian was exhumed from a shallow grave near his home in the village of Andriivka, in Kyiv region. AFP
Diplomatic feathers were ruffled earlier in the week after Kyiv rejected a proposed visit by Germany's president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former foreign minister who recently acknowledged "errors" in a too conciliatory stance toward Moscow in the past.
The Ukrainian presidency instead said it wanted to welcome Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kyiv, but the chancellor indicated he had no plans to visit anytime soon
The spat came as Mr Scholz faced pressure to step up support for Ukraine.
He has come under fire at home for his hesitancy over sending heavy weapons to Ukraine, despite his dramatic U-turn on Germany's defence policy prompted by Russia's invasion.
Following visits to Kyiv by several other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, critics asked why Mr Scholz was not making the trip.
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, said a trip by Mr Scholz to Kyiv would send a "strong signal", while the opposition CDU has urged him to "get an idea of the situation on the ground".
Even a member of Mr Scholz's ruling coalition, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, of the liberal FDP, suggested in an interview with the business daily Handelsblatt on Monday that Mr Scholz should "start using his powers of direction and leadership".
