“There will be no range restrictions, allowing Ukraine to fully defend itself, even against military targets outside its own territory,” Merz said in a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“We want to enable long-range weapons, we also want to enable joint production, and we will not speak about details publicly but will intensify cooperation.”
Zelenskiy said the two leaders had agreed to cooperate in the production of weapons in Ukraine, including drones. Government officials had signed agreements on the construction and development of production facilities, he said.
“These new projects already exist,” he said. “We just want them to be in the amount that we need.”
Zelenskiy’s visit to Berlin comes after Ukrainian and Russian officials met this month for face-to-face negotiations, under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end the conflict.
The talks failed however to produce a ceasefire agreement and Russia unleashed three nights of massive Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine over the weekend. Moscow has also gathered 50,000 troops near Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, Zelenskiy told reporters.
The military moves do not “speak the language of peace”, Merz said.
“This is a slap in the face for all those who are struggling for a ceasefire, in Ukraine itself, but also in Europe and the USA,” he said.
When asked about Merz’s weapons announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “all these actions naturally hinder peace efforts”.
Russia has accused Ukraine of significantly increasing drone and missile attacks on Russian territory over the past week using Western-supplied munitions.
Merz also said Europe would continue to increase pressure on Russia to engage in peace talks to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two – including ensuring that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline could not go into operation. (Reuters, AFP)
