Germany, Ukraine to jointly produce long-range weapons

AFP | Berlin

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Berlin will help Kyiv develop new long-range weapons that can hit targets in Russian territory.

He said both countries’ defence ministers would sign a memorandum of understanding for the production of long-range weapons systems, declining to provide technical details or name the manufacturers involved.

“There will be no range restrictions, allowing Ukraine to fully defend itself, even against military targets outside its own territory,” he told a joint press conference.

Zelensky’s Berlin visit comes days after Russia launched some of its heaviest missile and drone attacks of the conflict on Ukraine, and as US President Donald Trump has voiced growing frustration with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

The Ukrainian president accused Russia of stalling peace talks and said Moscow did not want to halt its three-year invasion, adding that “they will constantly look for reasons not to end the war”.

Merz said that “the massive air strikes, particularly on the city of Kyiv over the weekend, do not speak the language of peace, but rather the language of a war of aggression”.

“This is a slap in the face of all those who are trying to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine itself, but also in Europe and the USA.”

He warned that “the Russian side’s refusal to hold talks, the refusal to observe a ceasefire, now really has consequences, and we are drawing these consequences every day”.

Merz also pointed to reports that Russia and American investors are hoping to resume Russian gas deliveries through the destroyed Nord Stream pipelines running through the Baltic Sea and vowed that Germany will “do everything” to ensure this won’t happen.