Germany
and Ukraine reach deal for long-range weapons production
Berlin
agrees to help finance construction in Ukraine of weapons that can strike
targets inside Russia
Kate
Connolly in Berlin
Wed 28 May
2025 15.59 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/28/zelenskyy-merz-germany-ukraine-sumy
Ukraine and
Germany have agreed to future military cooperation in which Berlin will help
finance long-range weapons production on Ukrainian soil.
The deal
came as Zelenskyy warned that Russia had amassed 50,000 troops in the Sumy
region bordering Russia, where Vladimir Putin has declared an intention to
establish a buffer zone.
Friedrich
Merz, the German chancellor, said the weapons would be produced in a
Kyiv-Berlin collaboration. “Our defence ministers will sign a memorandum of
understanding today regarding the procurement of Ukrainian-manufactured
long-range weapons systems,” Merz told a press conference.
“There will
be no range restrictions, allowing Ukraine to fully defend itself, even against
military targets outside its own territory.”
The pact was
forged as Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin in search of more support after Russian
attacks intensified, and amid evidence that Moscow was planning a broad summer
offensive. It was his third visit to the German capital since the start of the
full-scale invasion in 2022 and his first since Merz entered office.
Merz avoided
commenting on speculation as to whether Germany would deploy Taurus missiles,
which was prompted by his pronouncement that range restrictions were no longer
in place, enabling Kyiv to strike Russian military targets over the border.
Neither
leader would detail the specific weapons that would be manufactured in Ukraine,
saying it was prudent to keep the information as secretive as possible.
Zelenskyy
said he expected the first weapons to be ready by June 2026.
The
expectation is that Berlin will supply Ukraine with the technical components to
build and maintain its own long-range weaponry, including rockets and cruise
missiles, with a range of up to 2,500km. This could enable Kyiv to better
defend itself, and also save Berlin from accusations – at home in particular –
that it is a war monger, helping to placate sceptics within elements of Merz’s
government who fear Germany being dragged into a wider-scale conflict.
The two
leaders said they believed all the stops had been pulled out to solve the
conflict through diplomatic means, repeatedly emphasising their conviction that
the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was not interested in ending the
bloodshed. But they said they would continue to pursue a negotiated peace,
referring to possible talks in Geneva.
Germany has
long supported Kyiv and is the second-biggest deliverer of weapons after the
US, but relations between Zelenskyy and Merz’s predecessor, Olaf Scholz, often
felt decidedly cool, and Kyiv was evidently repeatedly frustrated by the speed
of Berlin’s decisions.
Merz said
while in opposition that he would back Ukraine in office, and Wednesday’s
meeting was noticeably warmer and less tense than those between Scholz and
Zelenskyy. The two leaders used the informal version of “you” to address each
other, as well as referring to each other by their first names. When
Zelenskyy’s microphone appeared not to be connected to the in-house
interpreter, Merz quipped “German technology”, and laid a supportive hand on
the Ukrainian president’s arm.
As well as
focusing on Germany’s continued support for Ukraine, the visit was also
expected to be used to discuss efforts to bring about a ceasefire in the
conflict that has run for three-and-a-half years, the German government
spokesperson, Stefan Kornelius, said earlier in the day.
Almost
immediately on entering office earlier this month, Merz took a train to Kyiv
with his French and British counterparts, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, as
a sign of their solidarity towards Zelenskyy.
He greeted
Zelenskyy on Wednesday in a rainy Berlin with a military parade outside the
chancellery building.
After
meeting German business leaders and leading parliamentarians, Zelenskyy will
spend the night in Berlin. He and Merz are then due to travel to the western
German city of Aachen on Thursday, where the European Commission president,
Ursula von der Leyen, is to receive a prize. Starmer is also due to attend, and
the four leaders are expected to hold further talks there.
Before the
Berlin encounter, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, called Merz’s
recent plans to build the strongest conventional army in Europe “very
worrying”. Speaking at a security conference in Moscow, Lavrov said the
announcement was reminiscent of “the periods of the previous century when
Germany twice became the leading military power and how much trouble this
brought”.
There has
been heightened speculation that Merz will promise to deliver longer-ranged
weapons systems to Ukraine, such as Taurus missiles, after he said on Monday
there were no longer any range restrictions on the weapons Germany sends to
Kyiv to defend itself against Russia.
However, the
German government has since sought to clarify its position, saying these range
restrictions had already been lifted.
Merz is
expected to offer his Ukrainian counterpart a multibillion-euro package
including additional air defence capabilities, more weapons and financial aid
with which Ukraine can buy US military equipment. It is unclear whether the
package will be in addition to the €3bn (£2.5bn) in aid already agreed in March
by the outgoing government.
There are
also expectations that a longer-term approach to helping Ukraine will be
adopted. This would probably include Berlin supplying Ukraine with the
technical components necessary to build and maintain its own long-range
weaponry, including rockets and cruise missiles. This would enable Kyiv to
defend itself more effectively without Berlin having to be concerned about
being labelled a “war monger”. This in turn would make support for Ukraine more
palatable to Merz’s domestic audience, among whom there is concern about
Germany being dragged into a wider-scale conflict.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário