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".

Chancellor Friedrich Merz had raised the issue in a telephone call with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, Der Spiegel magazine reported subsequently. The exchange was confirmed to AFP by Kornelius.

The United States, which has been Kyiv'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 air attacks.

Moscow has in recent weeks ramped up missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, as US support for Kyiv has appeared to waver since Trump returned to office at the beginning of the year.

German officials were particularly concerned about the impact of a potential halt to deliveries of Patriot systems and ammunition, according to German media.

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.

Germany was waiting for a response from the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to a request for two Patriot units made "several weeks ago", the German daily Bild reported.

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.