Friedrich Merz went to Kyiv on Sunday with money, a production deal and a message for Moscow. The German chancellor arrived by train, despite Russian threats, and announced about €1.3 billion in support for Ukraine.
Of the total, €1 billion goes to military purposes: interceptor drones against jet-powered aircraft, long-range weapons, combat drones and satellite equipment. A further €350 million goes to the energy sector, covering generators, transformer substations and repair kits before winter.
The more lasting part is industrial. Germany and Ukraine signed a counter-drone cooperation agreement that includes joint production of interceptors. Merz said the technology "can quickly enter serial production", and that it "will quickly and noticeably strengthen Ukraine's air defense". The two countries also agreed to develop weapons with ranges beyond 1,000 kilometres.
Merz was joined by Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and a delegation of German business leaders, a sign that Berlin wants companies in Ukraine's rebuilding and defence industry, not only soldiers' equipment. Russian drones struck Kyiv during the visit. An air-raid alert sounded while Merz and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with rescuers at the National Academy of Sciences, which was damaged in a Russian strike on 28 September that killed two people and injured seven.
Zelenskyy called the chancellor's presence "a needed and brave signal" from Merz and Germany. Merz addressed the Russian president directly: "Mr Putin, put an end to this senseless war."
Germany remains Ukraine's biggest European backer, and this package is aimed at the two problems that hurt most: Russian air attacks and a winter without power. The drone agreement matters beyond Ukraine. If interceptor production scales up, it gives Germany and its European partners a cheaper way to defend against the same threat at home.
What to watch: how much of the €1 billion is new money rather than money already budgeted, whether other EU capitals match the energy support before winter, and how Moscow responds to the German-Ukrainian long-range weapons plan.
