Germany's Merz announces new aid for Ukraine in Kyiv as Russia steps up
attacks
[October 05, 2026]
By SUSIE BLANN, STEFANIE DAZIO and ELISE MORTON
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a new
aid package for Ukraine worth more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion)
during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday, as Russia escalated its attacks on
Ukrainian cities.
The aerial war has intensified, with Moscow menacing cities across
Ukraine with hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles and jet-powered
drones, while Kyiv has been striking Russia’s oil industry and
businesses.
About 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) of the package is military aid,
including long-range strike weapons, combat drones and satellite
technology, “so that Ukraine can also target Russian launch pads,” Merz
said at a news conference. Germany is also providing some 350 million
euros ($395 million) in energy aid ahead of winter for generators,
substations and repair work, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the two countries also
signed 15 agreements worth more than 8.5 billion euros ($9.6 billion),
mostly covering security cooperation, weapons production and
procurement, as well as a deal to expand their joint counter-drone
efforts.
“This is weaponry that will help right now,” Zelenskyy wrote on X,
adding they also discussed the need for air defense, which he called
“key” at this time.
At the news conference, Zelenskyy said Merz’s visit amid Russian attacks
was “an important signal of support for Ukraine and of the courage of
Germany and all of Europe.”
Germany will fund the joint production of drones designed to intercept
Russia’s jet-powered drones, Merz said, adding that “significant
technical breakthroughs” in recent weeks were speeding up production.
“This will quickly and tangibly strengthen Ukraine’s air defense,” he
said. “And this strengthening is urgently needed.”
Zelenskyy called jet-powered drones a growing challenge, saying Russia
had launched 900 of them this week alone and Ukraine was able to
intercept only around half. He highlighted the role of F-16 fighter jets
in countering the threat and said he would speak with U.S. President
Donald Trump about securing more ammunition.
Germany is Ukraine’s largest donor, sending Kyiv more than 43.3 billion
euros ($48.8 billion) since the war began, along with equipment and
weapons.
Merz was accompanied by Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche and
a business delegation.
US proposes talks by end of October
Zelenskyy said the U.S. was in contact with both Kyiv and Moscow and had
proposed holding a trilateral meeting at the technical level by the end
of October, possibly in the United Arab Emirates. He said he had told
U.S. negotiators on Saturday that Ukraine was ready to take part, and
that Kyiv was now waiting for Russia’s response.
He also accused Moscow of avoiding meaningful peace talks, and said
Ukraine and Germany were working to advance diplomatic efforts with
European participation.
Leaders visit National Academy of Sciences attack site
Merz and Zelenskyy visited a building of the National Academy of
Sciences of Ukraine in central Kyiv that was damaged in a Russian attack
that killed two people on Monday, as air raid sirens sounded across the
capital.
“These barbaric attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop.
These are daily war crimes,” Merz said at the site, a few hundred meters
(yards) from the German Embassy. Addressing Russian President Vladimir
Putin, he called on him to end “this senseless war,” adding: “We’re
ready to talk.”
Speaking in English, Zelenskyy called the attack on the academy
“absolutely terrible” and noted that Russia was carrying out strikes
even while the chancellor was in Kyiv. He thanked Merz for the visit,
saying Ukraine was buoyed by its “strong partners.”
Souring German-Russian relations
Merz said Russia’s aggression toward Germany went beyond a failed drone
attack at Leipzig Airport in early August, pointing to daily attacks on
the country’s data centers and data networks. “None of this will stop if
we stop helping Ukraine,” he said. “On the contrary, it will only get
worse after that.”
[to top of second column]
|
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, centre, and German
Chancellor Friedrich Merz speak to media with National Academy of
science building damaged after a Russian drone strike, on the
background, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy
Maloletka)
Germany has blamed Russia for the incident at Leipzig and in early
September announced the closure of the German Consulate in St.
Petersburg, the latest in a cycle of tit-for-tat moves.
Merz said Germany would take further steps to defend itself,
including against Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers in the Baltic and
North seas, airspace violations and drone attacks.
He also accused Russia of waging systematic disinformation campaigns
in Germany through bots and collaborators. “This is the political
battle of ideas that we must wage in Germany,” he said, adding that
he was “more determined than ever” to fight it because the country’s
“peaceful and free future” was at stake.
The German and Russian foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the
U.N. General Assembly’s annual meeting last month in what was
believed to be the first such face-to-face meeting since Russia’s
full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia’s Sergey Lavrov
rejected German calls to ease off its “dangerous path of escalation”
toward the country, and accused Germany of being Ukraine’s main
sponsor and seeking to be a leading military power in Europe.
Strikes on Kyiv’s bridges continue
Russian attacks damaged Kyiv’s Northern Bridge over the Dnieper
River again on Sunday. Video circulating on social media showed a
drone striking the bridge and exploding as vehicles crossed. Kyiv
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were wounded.
Russian assaults since Thursday have forced the full or partial
closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges, suspending traffic and
causing tailbacks in Moscow’s latest effort to disrupt life in the
Ukrainian capital.
Russia's Ministry of Defense said Sunday it would intensify its
strikes against military-industrial facilities and related
infrastructure in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, in response to
Zelenskyy's comments in an interview with Reuters published Saturday
that Ukraine would escalate its attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Zelenskyy said Sunday Russia was escalating attacks on civilian
infrastructure, including bridges, data centers and mobile networks.
He said Russia had previously targeted warehouses of Ukrainian
delivery companies Nova Poshta and Ukrposhta, and that Ukraine had
given “a fitting response” with strikes on Russian online retailer
Wildberries.
“Now they are attacking bridges. Do they really think we won’t
respond?” he said.
In other developments, one person was killed and 16 wounded Sunday
in a Russian aerial bomb attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, local
officials said.
Russia invaded its neighbor more than 4½ years ago, and there are no
concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible. Fighting
along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line snaking
through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually
deadlocked in recent months.
___
Dazio reported from Berlin and Morton from London. Associated Press
journalist Pietro De Cristofaro in Berlin contributed to this
report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
