Kiev, Aug 2 (IANS): The MARS II multiple rocket launchers supplied by Germany have arrived in Ukraine, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has announced on Twitter.

"Thank you to Germany and personally to my colleague Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht for these systems," the 56-year-old politician wrote.

Lambrecht had already announced the delivery of the three missile launchers last week. In addition, Germany has already delivered heavy weapons such as Leopard anti-aircraft tanks and self-propelled howitzer 2000 artillery systems to Ukraine, news agency dpa reported.

MARS stands for Medium Artillery Rocket System and can fire missiles with different effects - such as guided missiles with GPS systems or mine ejection missiles to block off sections of terrain.

The launch batteries with a combat load of 12 missiles are mounted on tracked vehicles that can develop a speed of up to 50 km per hour. The range of the projectiles is in some cases more than 100 km.

MARS II is the third long-range artillery system supplied to Ukraine by the West, alongside the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers supplied by the US and the M270 MLRS from the UK.