Germany and allies to send major military aid package to Ukraine using new NATO supply line

BERLIN (AP) — Germany announced on Wednesday that it will work with a group of Ukraine’s Western backers to supply a package of military aid to the war-ravaged country worth up to $500 million using a new NATO supply line.

Earlier this month, NATO started coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine after the Netherlands said that it would provide air defense equipment, ammunition and other military aid worth 500 million euros ($582 million).

Sweden announced the following day that it would contribute $275 million to a joint effort along with its Nordic neighbors Denmark and Norway to provide $500 million worth of air defenses, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and spare parts.

Germany’s foreign and defense ministries said the support is focused on equipment like “critical air defense capabilities. These are urgently needed to defend against Russia’s ongoing air strikes, which are killing more and more civilians throughout Ukraine.”

The United Nations has said that Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.

Two deliveries of equipment, most of it bought in the United States, were scheduled for this month, although the Nordic package was more likely to arrive in September. Germany did not name the group of countries it would be working with.

The equipment is supplied based on Ukraine’s priority needs on the battlefield. NATO allies then locate the weapons and ammunition and send them on.

Germany has delivered or pledged military support to Ukraine worth around 40 billion euros ($47 billion) since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shake hands after a joint press statement following talks with European and U.S. leaders in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shake hands after a joint press statement following talks with European and U.S. leaders in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

MADRID (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Julio Iglesias on Friday denied allegations that he sexually assaulted two former employees, calling the accusations “absolutely untrue."

Media reports from earlier this week alleged Iglesias had sexually and physically assaulted two women who worked at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas between January and October 2021. A day later, Spanish prosecutors said they were studying the allegations.

“With deep sorrow, I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked at my home. I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness," Iglesias said on Instagram.

Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias published the joint, three-year investigation on Jan. 13 into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.

A Spanish high court received formal allegations against Iglesias by an unnamed party on Jan. 5, according to officials there. Iglesias could potentially be taken in front of the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes by Spanish citizens while they are abroad, according to the court’s press office.

The 82-year-old Iglesias is one of the world’s most successful musical artists, having sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages. After making his start in Spain, he won immense popularity in the United States and wider world in the 1970s and ’80s. He’s the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias.

In 1988, he won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance for his album “Un Hombre Solo.” He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2019.

“I had never experienced such malice, but I still have the strength for people to know the full truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious affront,” Iglesias said on social media.

He also thanked those who had sent messages of support.

FILE - Spanish singer Julio Iglesias smiles during his star unveiling ceremony at the Walk of Fame in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, file)