Berlin (dpa) – The chairman of the Ukrainian parliament met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday to press Berlin to supply more weapons to his country in its war with Russia.

Ruslan Stefanchuk arrived in military fatigues and was welcomed by Scholz in his usual business suit. Following the meeting, Stefanchuk held out the possibility that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky might visit Germany if the war goes well for Kiev.

Later on Friday, Stefanchuk held talks with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the 100th day since the Russian invasion.

It was the first meeting between Steinmeier and a senior Ukrainian politician since a dispute blew up between the German president and Ukraine over what Ukraine perceives as Steinmeier’s long-standing previous support for Russia.

Ukraine disinvited Steinmeier in mid-April, when he wanted to visit Kiev in the company of the presidents of Poland and the three Baltic republics.

Steinmeier and Ukrainian President Zelensky spoke by phone in mid-May to resolve the dispute, with Zelensky inviting the German president and the entire government to visit him in Kiev.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has since visited Ukraine.

Earlier on Friday, after meeting members of the German parliament, Stefanchuk repeated a call for Germany to release older heavy armaments kept in stock, such as Leopard main battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

But speaking at the start of his visit on Thursday evening, Stefanchuk said: “Naturally what we need most of all is modern weapons. We are able to fight and resist with old weapons from old stocks, but new weapons are more efficient.”

Stefanchuk welcomed Scholz’s announcement on Wednesday that heavy weapons would be supplied, but stressed that this needed to happen quickly, as Ukraine was losing 100 people killed a day and 500 injured.

Scholz said Ukraine would receive the German-made Iris-T anti-aircraft system, the COBRA radar system for tracking enemy artillery and four Mars II multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) with a range of up to 40 kilometres from German army stocks.

Germany previously pledged to supply 50 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks and seven Panzerhaubitze 2000, a large self-propelled and armoured howitzer.

Speaking on Friday as Stefanchuk visited the parliament, Bundestag President Bärbel Bas said: “The German Bundestag stands side by side with Ukraine. We will continue to support your country with humanitarian, military, financial and diplomatic assistance to the best of our ability.”

Bas noted that Stefanchuk’s first trip abroad since the Russian invasion had brought him to Germany. “A sovereign Ukraine is part of a peaceful and democratic Europe. Your country has the right to decide its own path in freedom and peace,” she said.

The head of the Bundestag’s defence committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, called for Ukraine to be supplied with ammunition in a joint NATO effort. “The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition. This is old Soviet ammunition,” Strack-Zimmermann told dpa.

“We need a concentrated effort on the part of NATO to supply ammunition,” she said, adding Germany could also make a major contribution by supplying night-vision devices on a large scale.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, who has been sharply critical of Germany’s support thus far, added his voice in an interview with public broadcaster ARD on Friday.

“If we’re honest, 100 days of war, and to date not a single piece of heavy equipment has been delivered to Ukraine from Germany,” Melnyk said.

While welcoming Scholz’s announcement on Wednesday, Melynk said the first weapons would probably not arrive until the end of June. “You can see how dicey the situation is,” he said.