German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that Berlin is intensifying work with Kyiv on long-range strike capabilities, signaling a shift toward deeper military support as Russia escalates attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Berlin with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Merz said Germany had been “intensively” coordinating with Ukraine for months on projects related to “long-range fire.”
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Merz: “We are doing everything we can to equip the Ukrainian army”
Pressed by a reporter on why his government still refuses to send Taurus cruise missiles – a German-Swedish system he repeatedly advocated for while in opposition – Merz said Berlin had agreed with Kyiv to avoid publicly detailing such cooperation.
“We have agreed that we will no longer talk publicly about details,” he said, adding that “a certain degree of ambiguity towards the Russian side” was necessary when discussing capabilities.
But Merz made clear that Germany is indeed providing – and expanding – long-range options for Ukraine.
The chancellor corroborated that Germany is doing “everything to equip the Ukrainian army with weapons systems that have the appropriate range. This will increase in the coming weeks and months if necessary – including the production of such systems in Ukraine itself.”
€3 billion more for Ukraine’s military in 2026
Merz also announced that Germany plans to increase its financial support for Ukraine’s military by €3 billion ($3,5 billion) in 2026, calling the assistance both a duty to Kyiv and a matter of national security.
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“We are not doing this only to help Ukraine,” he said. “We are also doing it in our own security interest.”
He reiterated what Germany expects “in return,” saying Kyiv must remain a “reliable, trustworthy partner.” Merz stressed that a “relentless fight against corruption” was an absolute requirement, noting he had conveyed this message to President Zelensky twice – once in person and again in a phone call in recent days. He made clear that meaningful progress on Ukraine’s path toward the European Union depends on meeting these conditions.
Berlin boosts funding to counter Russia’s winter strikes
Citing Russia’s intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid, Merz confirmed that Germany had just contributed €60 million ($69 million) to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund – bringing total German support to €450 million ($519 million).
He called the attacks “reckless and deliberate,” noting that both Germany and Sweden back his proposal for the EU to adopt a unified position on the use of frozen Russian assets – which he described as “our strongest lever to bring Moscow to the negotiating table.”
Energy support and long-range weapons as two pillars of Germany’s strategy
Merz underscored that Berlin is continuously assessing where it can step up support – particularly as Ukraine braces for another winter under mass missile and drone strikes.
“We are examining on an ongoing basis where we can provide further support,” he said.
But the clearest shift came in his remarks about long-range strike capabilities – an area Germany had previously approached with caution.
By explicitly confirming that Germany is working to equip the Ukrainian army with long-range weapons systems – including potential production on Ukrainian soil – Merz marked one of Berlin’s clearest movements toward deeper military support since the start of the full-scale war.