Germany plans to supply additional air defenses for Ukraine to help protect grain shipments from potential Russian attacks, reported Bloomberg.
Germany will send one additional IRIS-T air defense system and over a dozen Gepard anti-aircraft guns. These weapons will provide cover for shipments of Ukrainian agricultural products heading to Romania along the country’s southern coast.
The air defense systems will aid Ukraine in increasing grain and agricultural product deliveries via its "humanitarian corridor" along the Danube River and overland transport. Ukraine has used this corridor with some success following Russia’s exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July.
Recently, Ukraine's navy said 12 more cargo vessels were ready to enter the Black Sea shipping corridor on their way to Ukrainian ports, as Kyiv continues to defy a de facto Russian blockade on its vital sea exports.