Germany’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in the latest public display of support for Ukraine by its Western partners, although deliveries of promised weapons and ammunition from NATO countries like Germany have been slow and have left Ukraine vulnerable to a Russian push along the front line.

Annalena Baerbock renewed Berlin’s calls for partners to send more air defence systems, as Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles, glide bombs and rockets. Germany is the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine. Ukraine’s troops are trying to hold off a fierce Russian offensive along the eastern border in one of the most critical phases of the war.