{"id":140004,"date":"2025-05-29T00:04:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T00:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/140004\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T00:04:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T00:04:11","slug":"germanys-merz-offers-to-help-ukraine-develop-its-own-long-range-missiles-to-hit-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/140004\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany’s Merz offers to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missiles to hit Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

BERLIN (AP) \u2014 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Wednesday to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their use and targets as the Kyiv government fights to repel Russia\u2019s invasion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some of the advanced weapon systems that allies have supplied to Ukraine during the 3-year war were subject to range and target restrictions \u2014 a fraught political issue<\/a> stemming from fears that if the weapons struck deep inside Russia, the Kremlin might retaliate against the country that provided them and draw NATO into Europe\u2019s biggest conflict since World War II.<\/p>\n

Standing beside visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Merz said that under an intensified cooperation agreement, Germany \u201cwill strive to equip the Ukrainian army with all the capabilities that truly enable it to successfully defend the country,\u201d including upgraded domestic missile production.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Ukraine's<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures during a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber)<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures during a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber)<\/p>\n

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After the United States, Germany has been the biggest individual supplier of military aid to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine will be able to fully defend itself, including against military targets outside its own territory\u201d with its own missiles, Merz said at a joint news conference.<\/p>\n

Hours after Merz\u2019s pledge, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly invited Ukraine to hold direct peace talks with Moscow in Istanbul on June 2.<\/p>\n

In a video statement, he said that Russia would use the meeting to deliver a memorandum<\/a> setting out Moscow\u2019s position on \u201creliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis.\u201d He also said any Russian delegation would again be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that all those who are sincerely interested in the success of the peace process in more than just words will support a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul,\u201d Lavrov said. <\/p>\n

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said his country isn\u2019t opposed to such direct peace talks but it still hasn\u2019t seen the memorandum promised by Russia and that further meetings would be \u201cempty\u201d without it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call on them to fulfill that promise without delay and stop trying to turn the meeting into a destructive one,\u201d Umerov wrote on X. He said he had handed such a document with the Ukrainian position to the Russian side.<\/p>\n

Low-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years<\/a> in Istanbul on May 16. The talks, which lasted two hours, brought no significant breakthrough, although both sides agreed to the largest prisoner exchange<\/a> of the war. It was carried out last weekend and freed 1,000 captives on each side.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Germany's<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber)<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber)<\/p>\n

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Germany doesn\u2019t mention its Taurus cruise missiles<\/p>\n

Merz declined to say whether Germany will supply its advanced Taurus long-range cruise missile<\/a> to Ukraine \u2014 long a request by Kyiv and a step that Berlin has resisted.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Germany's<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber)<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, and Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber)<\/p>\n

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The decision not to commit to giving Taurus missiles to Ukraine was a \u201cbig disappointment,\u201d said lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior member of Merz\u2019s party, the Christian Democratic Union.<\/p>\n

Merz loves \u201cvery strong personal statements\u201d but is not able to back them up with support from his coalition partners, Kiesewetter told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a Moscow connection in Germany,\u201d Kiesewetter said, suggesting some politicians are in favor of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia to end the war, along with lifting some sanctions.<\/p>\n

Asked about Germany\u2019s offer to fund long-range missile production in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that the move was an obstacle to reaching a peace agreement.<\/p>\n

Both Merz and Zelenskyy criticized the Kremlin\u2019s effective rejection of an unconditional ceasefire<\/a> proposed by the U.S., which Kyiv accepted. Kyiv says Moscow has been slow to respond to proposals for a settlement.<\/p>\n

Merz said last Monday that Germany and other major allies were no longer imposing range limits<\/a> on weapons they send to Ukraine, although he indicated their use was limited to Russian military targets. Ukraine has launched its own long-range drones against sites that support Russia\u2019s military efforts, including refineries and chemical plants.<\/p>\n

Then-U.S. President Joe Biden last year authorized Ukraine<\/a> to use U.S.-supplied missiles for limited strikes in Russia. The decision allowed Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS<\/a>, against Russia.<\/p>\n

In Berlin, Zelenskyy called for deeper defense cooperation across Europe and with Washington, stressing the need for long-range capabilities and sustained military funding to ensure Ukraine\u2019s resilience.<\/p>\n

He said the cooperation projects already exist. \u201cWe simply want (the missiles) to be produced in the quantity we need,\u201d Zelenskyy told reporters.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to hold peace talks at the highest level, including a trilateral meeting with himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are ready to meet at the level of leaders. Both the American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this,\u201d he said. Zelenskyy said he would accept any configuration of talks, whether that includes one trilateral meeting or separate meetings with Trump.<\/p>\n

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Russia is grateful to Trump for his mediation efforts. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, there is a big number of nuances to be discussed that can\u2019t be neglected and which neither party is going to sacrifice, because of its national interests,\u201d Peskov told reporters. \u201cJust like the United States, Russia has its national interests that are of primary importance to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Front-line fighting, deep strikes continue<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Germany's<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, welcomes Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an official military reception at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber)<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, right, welcomes Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an official military reception at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber)<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, fighting has continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukraine\u2019s army is shorthanded against its bigger adversary. Zelenskyy claimed Tuesday that Russia is mobilizing up to 45,000 men every month, while Ukraine mobilizes between 25,000-27,000.<\/p>\n

Both sides are continuing to conduct deep strikes. Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the war against Ukraine on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Russian air defenses downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry said, in what appeared to be one of the biggest Ukrainian drone assaults of the war.<\/p>\n

Ukraine is increasing its domestic production of drones and missiles, according to Zelenskyy. He said late Tuesday that Ukraine wants European countries to help it invest in the manufacture of attack drones, air defense interceptors, cruise missiles and ballistic systems.<\/p>\n

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses shot down Ukrainian 33 drones heading toward the capital. Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 42 drones were downed. He said drone fragments damaged three residential buildings in the village of Troitskoye, but no one was hurt.<\/p>\n

More than 60 flights were canceled Wednesday in Moscow as the capital\u2019s airports were forced to ground planes amid drone warnings, said the federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya.<\/p>\n

Overnight, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile and 88 drones, Ukraine\u2019s air force said. Air defense units shot down 34 drones, and 37 drones were jammed.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Hanna Arhirova and Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine, Emma Burrows in London and Philipp Jenne in Vienna, contributed.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP\u2019s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/russia-ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BERLIN (AP) \u2014 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Wednesday to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140005,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7654],"tags":[60740,12019,51,7667,32,2000,299,1945,4179,36201,522,714,60739,285,332,7659,7661,38553,10243,657,7662,47780,333,2601,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-140004","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ukraine","8":"tag-andrei-vorobyov","9":"tag-ap-top-news","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-dmitry-peskov","12":"tag-donald-trump","13":"tag-eu","14":"tag-europe","15":"tag-friedrich-merz","16":"tag-general-news","17":"tag-germany-government","18":"tag-international","19":"tag-joe-biden","20":"tag-philipp-jenne","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-russia","23":"tag-russia-government","24":"tag-russia-ukraine-war","25":"tag-sergei-sobyanin","26":"tag-sergey-lavrov","27":"tag-ukraine","28":"tag-ukraine-government","29":"tag-vladimir-medinsky","30":"tag-vladimir-putin","31":"tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy","32":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}