German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Photo via EPA

Ukraine will start receiving new ammunition for German-made Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns from August, Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

Speaking in Bendorf, DW reports, Mr Scholz said that ammunition production was already underway, but would take some time.

He also stressed that Ukraine cannot use the weapons from Germany to launch attacks on Russian territory, and other Western countries helping arm Ukraine also follow this rule.

The German chancellor added that "everything" must be done to avoid a war between Russia and NATO.

Since Gepards were no longer used by the German army, there was little spare ammunition to donate to Ukraine, which relies heavily on air defence to repel Russian attacks.

Germany tried to buy back ammo from South America, but their transfer to Ukraine was not approved by the country of origin – Switzerland – for reasons of neutrality.