Germany and Ukraine have agreed to jointly produce long-range missiles capable of striking deep into Russian territory. The new financial and military cooperation deal was announced by Chancellor Friedrich Merz during Wednesday’s visit to Berlin by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Ukraine will thus be able to defend itself, even against military targets outside its own territory”, Merz told a joint press conference with Zelensky, citing it as “a new form of military-industrial cooperation between our countries.”
Few details have been released about the terms of the agreement, in part because of the need for strategic ambiguity but also because of the political repercussions it might trigger in Germany at this time. The agreement covers both financing and military cooperation. According to Germany’s Defence Ministry, it is about “financing the production of large-scale weapons in Ukraine”. The ministry indicated that “a considerable number could be produced this year”, enabling the first of these to “be used” by Ukrainian armed forces “within a few weeks.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, was quoted as saying such actions “naturally hinder peace efforts”, according to AFP.
Before coming to Berlin, President Zelenskyy had said he “would like to receive $30 billion [€26.5 billion] to launch Ukrainian production at full capacity” in terms of weaponry.
“Today we are taking the first step in large-scale arms production cooperation with Ukraine”, Merz said. “This will also involve industrial cooperation, which could take place both in Ukraine and here in Germany. We will not provide further details on this until further notice.”
The two leaders also raised the possibility of partnering in the energy, construction and agricultural sectors, with Zelenskyy also scheduled to meet with German industrialists. Germany is the second-largest provider of military aid to Ukraine, behind the U.S.
Chancellor Merz did not say when exactly the Taurus missiles might be delivered that would enable Ukraine to strike targets at a range of 500-plus kms in Russian territory. He did promise an additional €5 billion of pre-budgeted aid to help finance coverage by the Starlink satellite network. “The Chancellor cannot speak openly about the delivery of the Taurus, because I think there is no consensus within the coalition on the subject”, economist and defence specialist Guntram Wolff said by way of explanation.
At the beginning of the week. Merz told a conference in Berlin that “range restrictions” no longer applied “for the weapons we deliver” to Ukraine – “not by the British, not by the French, not by us, not by the Americans”. Later, he qualified his remarks, noting this was something that “has been happening for months”.
Olaf Scholz, Merz’s predecessor, had always refused to supply long-range missiles to Ukraine lest they make Germany a “co-belligerent”, further alienating public opinion already divided over the terms of support for Kyiv.
