Bundestag calls on German government to increase arms supplies to Ukraine

Members of the Bundestag have called on the German government to immediately support Ukraine and provide more weapons to the country, including Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Leopard 2 tanks.

That's according to the Deutsche Welle news agency, Ukrinform reports.

The head of the foreign affairs committee, Michael Roth from Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), said the West as a whole should do its best to help Ukraine achieve victory.

"In this new phase of the war, Ukraine needs weapons that will enable it to liberate territories occupied by Russia and keep them permanently under its control. The West, in particular, the US, Germany, France and Poland, should quickly coordinate closely here and adapt its deliveries to the new situation," Roth told the Funke media group.

He said it seemed increasingly realistic "that Ukraine can win this war, and do so as a free, democratic country while preserving its territorial integrity."

The head of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the business-focused Free Democrats (FDP), told the German dpa news agency that Germany had an obligation to help preserve democracy.

"Germany must immediately play its part in Ukraine's successes and supply protected vehicles — the Marder infantry fighting vehicle and the Leopard 2 main battle tank," she said on Sunday.