German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has handed the first new RCH 155 wheeled howitzer to Ukraine in order to strengthen the artillery, the German television channel Tagesschau reported.

"This is a signal that Ukraine can count on us. And Germany is ready to take on responsibility in Europe," the minister said in Kassel, where the tank manufacturer KNDS produces the weapon system.

Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Oleksiy Makeyev symbolically accepted the first of a total of 54 wheeled howitzers planned for Ukraine. The first six systems will initially remain in Germany and be used to train Ukrainian soldiers.

"We don't need mediators, we need allies," he said with a view to possible negotiations on an end to the war.