Germany agrees €5bn in aid to Ukraine and joint production of long-range weapons
BERLIN — Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Berlin would seek to help Kyiv jointly develop new long-range weapons that can strike deeper inside Russia as Germany agreed on a new €5 billion aid package.
Heralding the beginning of a "new form of military industrial cooperation between our two countries," Merz said that Germany and Ukraine would seek to "enable joint production" of weapons.
"This will be a cooperation on an industrial level, which can take place both in Ukraine and here in Germany," Merz said.
Following Merz's statement, the defense ministers of Ukraine and Germany signed a memorandum which also includes direct German investment in Ukraine's defense industry and a broader agreement between Ukraine and German arms manufacturers.
"This is the beginning of a new form of military-industrial cooperation between our countries, which has significant potential," Merz said at a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.
The German Defense Ministry said a "significant" number of these systems are expected to be manufactured by the end of 2025, with the first batch ready for deployment in the coming weeks.Berlin also reiterated its commitment to supply Ukraine with more weapons and ammunition, including air defense and artillery.Merz declined to say whether Germany will supply its advanced Taurus long-range cruise missile to Ukraine, long a request by Kyiv and a step that Berlin has so far resisted.Merz only said that he is not willing to comment on the issue and the sides "want to talk about production and we will not publicly discuss details."Visiting Kyiv at the beginning of May, Merz said that all future arms supply talks with Ukraine would be kept confidential.On Monday, Merz said that Ukraine's western allies are no longer imposing restrictions on the use of long-range weapons for Kyiv to use against Russian military targets.Later, he sought to temper those comments by elaborating that the decision to lift restrictions had been made "months ago.""In this respect, yesterday in Berlin, I described something that has been happening for months: namely, that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives, even beyond its own borders, against military targets on Russian territory," Merz clarified.Taurus missiles are similar in range and payload to the Scalp/Storm Shadow missiles which are supplied to Ukraine by France and the UK.But the Taurus differs in that it can penetrate reinforced concrete walls and can be programmed to explode after hitting a target, which is why they are used against what the German Air Force refers to as "high-value targets." — Euronews
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
14 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel arms exports hit all time high in 2024: Defense ministry
Israel's defense ministry said Wednesday that its arms exports hit an all-time high of more than $14.7 billion in 2024, despite international criticism of Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. 'Israel again reached an all-time peak in defense exports in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive record-breaking year in the scope of defense agreements,' the ministry, which oversees and approves the exports of Israel's defense industries, said in a statement. For the latest updates on the Israel-Palestine conflict, visit our dedicated page. A majority -- 56.8 percent -- of the deals signed were 'mega-deals' valued at at least $100 million each, the ministry said, adding that 'operational achievements' in the Gaza war had driven the demand. Since the outbreak of the war, sparked by militant group Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, the ministry said it had been operating on 'emergency mode, mobilizing for the war effort with round-the-clock IDF production while maintaining foreign client manufacturing.' 'The war's operational achievements and the proven battlefield performance of Israeli systems have driven strong international demand for Israeli defense technology, concluding 2024 on a remarkably high note with record-breaking export deals,' it said. The ministry said that demand for its missiles, rockets, and air defence systems had 'reached a new significant milestone' and accounted for some 48 percent of the total number of exports, up from 36 percent in 2023. Additionally, 'satellite and space systems exports saw substantial growth, representing 8 percent of deals in 2024 compared to 2 percent in 2023,' the ministry said. A breakdown of the regions to which the arms were exported showed that European countries made up more than half. Sales to countries considered part of the Abraham Accords appeared to have risen from 3 percent in 2023 to 12 percent. 'Precisely during a difficult and complex year of war, Israel has broken an all-time record in defense exports,' Defense Minister Israel Katz said in the statement. 'The world sees Israeli strength and seeks to be a partner in it,' he added.
Saudi Gazette
17 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Cologne evacuates 20,000 so WW2 bombs can be defused
COLOGNE — The German city of Cologne is evacuating some 20,500 people from a large area in the city center so experts can defuse three unexploded bombs from World War Two. The American bombs were discovered on Monday in a shipyard in the Deutz neighborhood. Unexploded bombs can still pose a danger and the city has sealed off the zone within a 1,000m (3280ft) radius, in what it described as "the largest operation since the end of WW2". Homes, shops, hotels and schools have been told to evacuate, as well as a large hospital and major train station. "If you refuse, we will escort you from your home - if necessary by force - along with the police," the authorities said. Residents were told if they refused to leave their homes after the evacuation began they could face expensive intensive care patients were helped out in ambulances from the Eduardus country's bomb disposal service plans to diffuse the ten-tonne (10,000kg) and 20-tonne (20,000kg) bombs on Wednesday but it won't be possible to do so until all residents in the area leave for their own safety, the city evacuation in the Old Town and Deutz neighborhoods began with officials going door to door to tell people they must leave their of the city's usually bustling streets were eerily deserted as shops, restaurants and businesses were told to stop operating during the institutions including the Philharmonic Hall and many museums have been affected, as well as government buildings, 58 hotels, and nine was severely disrupted, with all roads are closed in the area, many trains canceled and the Messe/Deutz train station was closed from 08:00 local time (07:00BST).The authorities have set up two drop-in centres for people who don't have anywhere to go during the evacuation were told to "stay calm", bring their ID and any essential medications, and to take care of their Bonn Airport said flights would continue as usual but travelling to the airport by train or road may be some people, the evacuation was more than a little inconvenient. Fifteen couples were scheduled to get married at Cologne's historic town hall but the ceremonies were relocated to a location in another part of the city, local media reported. — BBC
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
NATO'S Baltic drills are part of preparations for a potential clash with Russia, TASS reports
NATO'S Baltic drills are part of the alliance's preparations for a potential military clash with Russia, TASS news agency cited Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying in remarks published on Wednesday.'We assess NATO's military activity as part of preparations for military clashes with Russia,' TASS cited Grushko as saying.'If we look at the focus of these exercises, the concept, the structure of the deployment of forces, the forces themselves, their quality, the tasks that are formulated for these exercises, then this is a fight against a comparable adversary,' Grushko said according to – NATO's annual exercise in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it – is being held this month.
