Asked to comment on reports that the government in Berlin had reached out to Washington over a deal for new anti-missile systems, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said he could "confirm that more intensive discussions are indeed taking place on this".

The United States, which has been Ukraine's biggest military backer since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, said Tuesday it was halting some key weapons shipments to Ukraine.

Among the items affected, according to US media, were Patriot anti-missile systems, which Ukraine deploys to shield itself from Russian attacks.

Moscow has in recent weeks ramped up missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, as US support for Kyiv has appeared to waver under President Donald Trump.

German officials were particularly concerned about the impact of a potential halt to deliveries of Patriot systems and ammunition, German daily Bild reported Thursday.

Berlin had spoken to US officials about a deal that would see it purchase the weapons on Kyiv's behalf and deliver them to Ukraine, Bild reported.

Germany was waiting on a response from the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to a request for two Patriot units made "several weeks ago", the paper said.

Ukraine has long stressed its need to improve its air defence, including with more Patriot systems, but has struggled to source them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in April his government wanted to purchase "at least" 10 Patriot systems to defend against Russian attacks.