Germany preparing new IRIS-T for Ukraine, has delivered over 60 Gepards — ambassador

“We’ve received more than 60 Gepards. That means most of the ‘Gepards’ that could be captured in the forests of the world — have been captured, and they’re now grazing in Ukrainian pastures,” he said.

Makeiev added that the German system has proven highly effective in Ukraine, particularly against Shahed drones. However, he noted that Russia has since changed its drone attack tactics, making it harder to intercept targets.

The ambassador also confirmed that Germany continues supplying Ukraine with the IRIS-T systems it urgently needs.

“Seven systems have already arrived, the eighth is on the way,” he said.

On July 21, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that the United States and Germany had agreed to deliver five Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. The systems are expected to arrive “in the near future.”

On July 14, Donald Trump declared that the United States and NATO had reached a deal to supply weapons to Ukraine. He said the U.S. would produce “the best weapons in the world” and sell them to NATO, which would then coordinate deliveries to Ukraine.