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German chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for German-Ukrainian government consultations in Berlin Germany, Tuesday, April 14, 2026.<\/p>\n
Ebrahim Noroozi\/AP<\/p>\n
German chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for German-Ukrainian government consultations in Berlin Germany, Tuesday, April 14, 2026.<\/p>\n
Ebrahim Noroozi\/AP<\/p>\n
German chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for German-Ukrainian government consultations in Berlin Germany, Tuesday, April 14, 2026.<\/p>\n
Markus Schreiber\/AP<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attend a press conference at the German-Ukrainian government consultations in Berlin Germany, Tuesday, April 14, 2026.<\/p>\n
Ebrahim Noroozi\/AP<\/p>\n
BERLIN (AP) \u2014 Ukraine and Germany are starting work on plans for the joint production of advanced drones and other battle-tested defense systems, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as Kyiv looks to scale up its more than four-year fight against Russia\u2019s all-out invasion.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have proposed to Germany a bilateral drone deal covering various types of drones, missiles, software and modern defense systems. Our teams are starting concrete work,\u201d Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Berlin.<\/p>\n
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Merz said that Germany\u2019s commitment to supporting Kyiv’s war effort is \u201ca very clear signal\u201d to Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not waver in our efforts to defend Ukraine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia\u2019s war on its neighbor have recently petered out as the Iran war grips the Trump administration\u2019s attention, although Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that Washington \u201cwill continue to push for a negotiated and durable end\u201d to the war.<\/p>\n
Russia has occupied about 20% of Ukraine so far. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.<\/p>\n
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Weapon production funding<\/p>\n
Ukraine has the capacity to produce twice as much military equipment as it’s currently deploying, but lacks funding to step up production, according to Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe simply don\u2019t have enough money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A key to unlocking that potential lies in obtaining a promised 90 billion-euro ($106 billion) loan from the European Union. That was being held up by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, but his impending departure from office after a weekend election could free up the money.<\/p>\n
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Ukraine needs those funds \u201curgently,\u201d Merz said.<\/p>\n
After Berlin, Zelenskyy was due to visit Norway, another important financial and military ally, while defense leaders from the 50-plus partner nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for Kyiv will hold an online meeting Wednesday, Ukraine\u2019s Defense Ministry said.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian troop shortfall<\/p>\n
Kyiv is heavily reliant on U.S. intelligence for targeting inside Russia and needs more sophisticated American-made air defense systems to stop Russian missile attacks on its power grid. If the Iran war drags on, it could erode vital U.S. support for Kyiv, Zelenskyy fears.<\/p>\n
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Furthermore, the Ukrainian army is short-handed, facing around 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in January.<\/p>\n
Germany will help Kyiv facilitate the return home of Ukrainian men of military age, Merz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need rapid, tangible progress here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Domestically developed unmanned platforms are playing a vital role in holding back Russia’s invasion. Ukraine makes air and sea drones, missiles that have reached around 1,750 kilometers (1,000 miles) into Russia, as well as battlefield robots that help make up for its troop shortage.<\/p>\n
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Ukraine has been approached about security cooperation, especially battle-tested drone production, by eight Middle East and Gulf countries, as well as Turkey, Iraq and countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, Zelenskyy said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Ukraine reportedly posts battlefield successes<\/p>\n
Despite its handicaps, Western analysts and officials say Ukraine has in recent months recorded battlefield successes against Russia\u2019s bigger army, disrupting a spring offensive started by Russia amid improving weather, as fields dry out and new foliage on tree lines offers more cover.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the long-range drones and missiles that Kyiv designs and produces are repeatedly striking oil facilities and manufacturing plants deep inside Russia.<\/p>\n
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Ukraine \u201cis in a much better place than it has been at any stage in this horrific war,\u201d Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday.<\/p>\n
Ukraine \u201cis on top from a military perspective,\u201d Stubb said, noting that last month Ukraine fired more drones and missiles at Russia than vice versa.<\/p>\n
Moscow has also claimed progress on the battlefield. Independent verification of each side\u2019s claims wasn’t possible.<\/p>\n
Russian attacks on Ukraine kill 5 civilians<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukraine city of Dnipro killed four people and left 21 hospitalized with injuries, 10 of them in serious condition, regional authorities said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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The city\u2019s attorney general\u2019s office said the victims, all civilians, were driving or walking past the scene of the strike in the city, 485 kilometers (300 miles) southeast of Kyiv.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, a 52-year-old woman was killed in a Russian drone strike in the southern city of Kherson that also left one man seriously wounded, authorities said.<\/p>\n
Hanna Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report from Kyiv.<\/p>\n
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