As part of Western support to Ukraine, in order to help it tackle Russian military operations that have intensified in recent days, German media reported on Tuesday that Berlin

had handed over "IRIS-T" air defence systems to Kyiv.

The move comes as Germany's defence minister, Christine Lambrecht, said on Monday that her country would hand over the first of four IRIS-T systems to Ukraine within days.

In a statement, she added: "The renewed rocket fire in Kyiv and many other cities shows how important it is to provide Ukraine with air defence systems at speed"

Lambrecht added: "Russian missile and drone attacks are particularly intimidating the civilian population, which is why we are now providing support for air defence weapons."

Russia, the Western countries, has repeatedly warned against handing over more weapons to Ukraine, saying that such support prolonges the conflict and threatens to slide into a broader confrontation.

In early June, Berlin announced that it would hand over Kiev air defence systems of the "Iris-T" manufactured by Dehl Germany and capable, according to German consultant Olaf Scholz, of "protecting an entire large city from Russian airstrikes."