Germany’s Merz visits Kyiv, unveils 1bn euros in aid

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz yesterday announced military aid for Ukraine worth about 1 billion euros (US$1.13 billion) and an energy support package during a visit to Kyiv, as the Ukrainian capital the same day came under renewed attack from Russian drones.

Merz, who was accompanied by a senior minister and several company executives, said his visit “demonstrates that we will not be intimidated. Nor will we be intimidated by a drone attack occurring at the very time of our visit.”

He arrived in Kyiv yesterday for an unannounced visit.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, left, greets German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a railway station in Kyiv yesterday.

Photo: AFP / Ukrainian Foreign Ministry

The aerial war has intensified, with Moscow menacing cities across Ukraine with hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, while Kyiv has been striking Russia’s oil industry and businesses.

Merz said he traveled to the Ukrainian capital to demonstrate his country’s solidarity with Ukraine. Germany is Ukraine’s largest donor, sending Kyiv more than 43.3 billion euros since the war began, along with equipment and weapons.

“If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will sooner or later turn against us,” he said, adding that he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy: “You can continue to count on our help.”

The partnership between the two countries was “not a one-way street,” he said, pointing to German and Ukrainian companies jointly developing technologies that benefit both sides.

“This makes us safer and stronger,” he added.

In a post on X, Zelenskiy thanked Germany and said the two countries would make “important agreements” during the visit to bolster Ukraine’s defenses and those of the rest of Europe.

“Russia must be stopped together,” he wrote.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said the agenda would focus on “strengthening Ukraine, our defense and resilience and our shared European security.”

Merz and Zelenskiy visited a building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in central Kyiv that was damaged in a Russian attack on Monday last week.

“These barbaric attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop. These are daily war crimes,” Merz said at the site.

He called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end “this senseless war,” adding: “We’re ready to talk.”

Zelenskiy called the attack on the academy “absolutely terrible” and said that Russia was carrying out strikes even while the chancellor was in Kyiv.

He thanked Merz for the visit, saying Ukraine was buoyed by its “strong partners.”