Germany agrees security deal with Ukraine and reveals further €1.1bn aid package

Olaf Scholz, right, welcomes Volodymyr Zelenskyy before their two countries agreed a security pact (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bilateral security agreement with Germany and planned to sign another with France on Friday, securing a strong signal of long-term backing as Kyiv works to shore up Western support nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale war.

Mr Zelenskyy met in Berlin with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said Berlin was providing another €1.1 billion package of military aid, including 36 howitzers, 120,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and two more air-defence systems.