Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defence system, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, following pleas from Kyiv and German opposition parties to step up heavy weapons deliveries, writes Reuters.

Scholz said Germany had been “delivering continuously since the beginning of the war”, pointing to more than 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 grenades and over 5,000 anti-tank mines sent to Ukraine.

“Most recently, the government has decided that we will deliver the most modern air defence system that Germany has in the form of the IRIS-T”, - Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag.

Responding to critics in his speech to parliament, Scholz said his government had responded to the Russian attack with a “massive change of policy in Germany” by opting to send heavy weapons into a war zone.

Scholz said talks were continuing with Germany"s partners on ways to further arm Ukraine against the Russian attack.