KYIV: Germany’s new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, made an unscheduled visit to Kyiv on Tuesday, two weeks after Berlin agreed to provide Leopard tanks to help Ukraine counter Russian forces.

Ukraine’s outgoing defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov tweeted a photo of him and Pistorius holding a model replica of the tank. A defence ministry spokesman confirmed the photo was taken in the Ukraine capital on Tuesday. “Thank you to @Bundeskanzler my colleague Boris Pistorius and the German people. The tank coalition is marching... to victory!” Reznikov wrote.