Canada tops up German fund for Ukraine air defenses

"This investment will help Ukraine defend itself against the brutal attacks that have destroyed hospitals, power plants and apartment blocks and have killed thousands of innocent Ukrainians," Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair told a joint news conference with his visiting German counterpart, Boris Pistorious.

Pistorious said Iris-T air defense systems would be delivered to Kyiv in the coming weeks, "because we don't have time to lose."

Germany launched the the Immediate Action on Air Defense (IAAD) initiative last month and has called on allies to find and finance more air defense systems requested by Kyiv as Russia continues to pummel its critical infrastructure.

It echoes a program previously launched by the Czech Republic to jointly finance the purchase of munitions for Ukraine.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also encouraged countries with Patriot missile systems to donate them to Ukraine.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told NATO members that his country needed a minimum of seven additional Patriot or other high-end air defense systems to counter Russian air strikes.