Translated with AI
Germany will continue and significantly expand its military support for Ukraine. This was stated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following the talks held in Berlin.
Expanding military aid
According to Merz, Germany is ready to provide Kyiv with additional resources and technologies that will help strengthen the country's defense capability. "Today we talked about military support from Germany. I will not go into details, but I can say that our assistance will be continued and expanded so that Ukraine can defend itself from Russian aggression – both now and in the future," he said.
Germany, in particular, will take on a significant part of the costs of providing Starlink satellite communications, which plays a key role in ensuring communications in wartime. Also, in the near future, it is planned to sign a joint statement of intent to purchase long-range weapons of Ukrainian manufacture.
"If restrictions on the use of long-range weapons are lifted, Ukraine will be able to fully defend itself and hit targets outside its territory. This is the beginning of a new form of military-industrial cooperation between Germany and Ukraine," Merz noted.
Support for the negotiation process
The head of the German government emphasized that Ukraine is most interested in peace and has already declared its readiness for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Germany and its European partners are ready to support any diplomatic process.
"It does not matter where the negotiations take place – in the Vatican, in Geneva or elsewhere. We, the Europeans, are ready to support these efforts. There is complete unanimity with Paris, London, Warsaw, Rome, Helsinki and Brussels. We also count on the participation of the United States, without which the success of the negotiations is impossible," he noted.
Merz expressed gratitude to former US President Donald Trump for his contribution to diplomatic efforts in recent weeks.
Assessing Russia's actions
The German Chancellor sharply condemned Russia's actions, saying that Moscow was trying to buy time rather than achieve peace. "The memorandum on negotiations that President Putin announced a week ago has still not been presented. And the massive missile attacks on Kyiv over the weekend speak not the language of peace, but the language of war. This is a slap in the face to all who seek a ceasefire," he said.
In this regard, according to Merz, Germany intends to increase pressure on Moscow. In particular, he stressed that the Nord Stream 2 project will remain frozen. "We will do everything to ensure that this gas pipeline is never launched," he added.
New horizons for Ukrainian-German cooperation
Friedrich Merz said that the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has significantly changed the nature of bilateral relations. "We have become closer – not only at the level of governments, but also at the level of our societies. Almost all federal government ministers actively interact with their Ukrainian colleagues. And this cooperation will deepen," he said.
For the first time in many years, intergovernmental Ukrainian-German consultations will be held at the end of 2025. Also, as part of President Zelensky's visit, a meeting with representatives of German business is planned, where they will discuss the prospects for post-war recovery and economic partnership.
Merz stressed that the key areas of cooperation will be energy, infrastructure, agriculture, mechanical engineering and medical technology. "We see enormous potential in working together. This is the path to sustainable peace and security throughout Europe," the Chancellor summed up.
Context of the visit
Let us recall that the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Berlin on May 28 was already his third meeting with Chancellor Merz in recent weeks. As The New York Times notes, such an active diplomatic line underscores the desire of the head of the German government to restore Germany's leadership position in Europe against the backdrop of weakening US commitment to NATO.
