Germany has delivered a third Patriot air-defence system to Ukraine, authorities said on Friday.

German Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Jäger said on the social media platform X that the move would “help to improve the protection of the population and infrastructure.”

“The Ukrainian crew has successfully completed appropriate training in Germany,” he added.

Amid the conflict in Ukraine, which began with the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Kiev received its first modern US-made Patriot system in April 2023 and now has four.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked for additional systems to be used to protect major cities under fire across Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhya and Odessa. A number of countries, including Romania, have promised to send further assistance.

The technology has already been used to intercept Russian hypersonic and ballistic missiles.