INTERNATIONAL: Additional German navy ships left the northern port of Kiel on Monday,February 28, to reinforce NATO's northern flank as Alliance members rally in defence of Ukraine.

The minehunting boats "Sulzbach-Rosenberg" and "Homburg," the minesweeper "Siegburg" and the tender "Elbe" departed for the Baltic Sea on Monday.

The departing vessels follow the corvette "Erfurt" and the fleet service boat "Alster" that left on Saturday under the motto: Not on our watch.

The ships’ departure coincides with a policy shift that means Germany will now supply Ukraine with defensive anti-tank weapons, surface-to-air missiles and ammunition.

After facing criticism for refusing to send weapons to Kyiv, unlike other Western allies, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin will supply Ukraine with 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks.

Germany has a long-standing policy of not exporting weapons to war zones, rooted partly in its bloody 20th-century history and resulting pacifism. Countries aiming to pass on German weapons exports need to apply for approval in Berlin first.