Germany starting hunt for more air defenses for Ukraine, defense minister says

German defense minister Boris Pistorius told reporters on Wednesday that Germany would kick off a new initiative to find more air defenses for Ukraine.

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Germany to hire 11,000 more military personnel this year: Report

The German government will provide funds for an extra 11,000 military personnel by the end of the year, an increase of around 4 percent, tabloid Bild reported on Saturday, citing government sources. The money will be provided for 10,000 soldiers and 1,000 civilian employees for the military by end-2025, the newspaper said, adding the move was part of this year's budget planning to be approved by the cabinet next week. The new jobs will cover armed, air, naval and cyber forces, the report said. Germany's Defense Ministry declined to comment. Germany needs up to 60,000 additional troops under new NATO targets for weapons and personnel, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this month, as the alliance beefs up its forces to respond to what it sees as an increased threat from Russia.

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Zelenskyy says Ukraine developing interceptor drones to counter Russian attacks

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine was working on the rapid development of interceptor drones to counter the swarms of Russian drones that have been descending on Ukrainian cities in increasing numbers in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials have noted the sharply increased numbers of Iranian-designed Shahed drones deployed by Russian drones in the course of a single night and say it is vital to develop technology capable of tackling the threat they pose. 'We are also working separately on interceptor drones, which are intended to enhance protection against Shahed drones,' Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. 'Several of our domestic enterprises -- and, accordingly, different types of drones -- are delivering results. Production volumes of interceptors are already increasing.' Russian forces have been deploying more than 400 drones on a single night, with more than 470 fired on more than one occasion. A total of 440 drones -- plus 32 missiles -- were deployed this week in a 'combined' attack on Kyiv that flattened part of an apartment building and killed 28 people. 'Drone air defense will help us use our means in a rational fashion. We cannot constantly use scarce air and anti-aircraft guided missiles and aviation itself to hunt enemy drones,' Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat told Ukrainian media this week. 'The enemy is deploying more and more Shaheds and we are therefore looking for different methods to counter them.' Zelenskyy and other officials have pointed to domestic drone production as a key element in national defense, and production has increased dramatically from being virtually non-existent before the Russian invasion of February 2022. The president told foreign arms manufacturers last November that Ukraine could produce 4 million drones annually and was quickly ramping up its production of other weapons. Ukraine has also been deploying drones against a variety of targets in Russia, mainly industrial and military. In a major operation earlier last month, Ukrainian drones attacked strategic bomber aircraft at different Russian airfields.

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Ukraine asks allies to allocate 0.25 percent of GDP to boost its weapon production

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Ukraine's Western partners to allocate 0.25 percent of their GDP to helping Kyiv ramp up weapons production and said the country plans to sign agreements this summer to start exporting weapon production technologies. In remarks released for publication by his office on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was in talks with Denmark, Norway, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Lithuania to launch joint weapon production. 'Ukraine is part of Europe's security and we want 0.25 percent of the GDP of a particular partner country to be allocated for our defense industry and domestic production,' Zelenskyy said. As the war with a bigger and better-equipped Russia has intensified in recent weeks, Ukraine's need for new weapons and ammunition is constantly growing. This year Kyiv had secured $43 billion to finance its domestic weapon production, Zelenskyy said. Member nations of the NATO military alliance are expected to meet next week in The Hague, to discuss higher defense spending. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has proposed that countries should each agree to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense and security measures. Zelenskyy said he was likely to visit the NATO summit, adding that several meetings with Western leaders had been set up on the sidelines. He also said that he hoped to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. Last week, Zelenskyy attended the Group of Seven summit in Canada as he sought to discuss stronger sanctions against Russia and more military support for Ukraine with Trump there. But he failed to meet with the U.S. President as Trump left a day early for Washington to address the Israel-Iran conflict. Ukraine currently covers about 40 percent of its defense needs with domestic production, and the government is constantly looking for ways to increase production further. Kyiv plans to launch joint weapon production outside of the country and will start exporting some of its military production technologies, Zelenskyy said. 'We have launched a program 'Build with Ukraine' and in summer we will sign relevant agreements to start exporting our technologies abroad in the format of opening production lines in European countries,' Zelenskyy said. The discussions focused on producing different types of drones, missiles, and potentially artillery, he said.