In the latest sign of a warming relationship, President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Berlin with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Germany would increase funding for arms production and supplies.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that Germany would step up its support for Ukraine, increasing funding for the production of weapons — including long-range ones — and sending more military equipment to Kyiv.
The announcement, made at a joint news conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, comes as the United States is stepping away from the conflict and as Europe has been forced to move unto the breach.
Mr. Merz, without providing specifics, said Germany would supply Ukraine with more funding to step up domestic production of weapons, including those with long-range capabilities, and also increase shipments of military equipment from Germany.
The German Defense Ministry later provided more detail about the aid, saying it included cooperation in weapons construction, air-defense systems, hand-held and other weapons and financing of satellite communications. The value was roughly 5 billion euros, or about $5.7 billion, it said.
Mr. Zelensky was visiting Berlin in a bid to secure more assistance from Europe’s industrial powerhouse, and holding his third meeting with Mr. Merz since the German leader took office this month. His trip came as both Moscow and Ukraine race to expand their arsenals to fight a war that is set to drag into a fourth straight summer.
The meetings between Mr. Merz and Mr. Zelensky underscores the chancellor’s efforts to reestablish German leadership among European allies in the face of weakening U.S. commitments to NATO, and the importance his country will play in sustaining the Ukrainian war effort.
