Merz says Germany will help Ukraine produce long-range missiles

Germany and Ukraine will develop the joint production of long-range missiles, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Berlin.

“Our defence ministers will sign a memorandum of understanding today regarding the procurement of Ukrainian-made long-range weapons systems,” Merz said during a joint news conference with Zelenskyy on Wednesday.

“There will be no range restrictions, allowing Ukraine to fully defend itself, even against military targets outside its own territory,” he said.

Zelenskyy said the two leaders had agreed to cooperate in production in Ukraine of weapons, including drones. Government officials had signed agreements on the construction and development of production facilities, he said.

“These new projects already exist,” he said. “We just want them to be in the amount that we need.”

Zelenskyy’s visit to Germany comes after Ukrainian and Russian officials met this month for face-to-face negotiations, under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end the war.

The talks failed however to produce a ceasefire agreement and Russia unleashed three nights of Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine over the weekend. Moscow has also gathered 50,000 troops near Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, Zelenskyy told reporters.

The military moves do not “speak the language of peace”, Merz said.

“This is a slap in the face for all those who are struggling for a ceasefire, in Ukraine itself, but also in Europe and the USA,” he said.

Russia has accused Ukraine of significantly increasing drone and missile attacks on Russian territory over the past week using Western-supplied munitions.

Zelenskyy says ready for high-level talks

Merz also said Europe would continue to increase pressure on Russia to engage in peace talks to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two – including ensuring that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline could not go into operation.

Zelenskyy told reporters on Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to hold talks at the highest level, including a trilateral meeting with himself, Putin and US President Donald Trump.

“We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. Both the American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this,” he said. Zelenskyy said he would accept any configuration of talks, whether that includes one trilateral meeting or separate meetings with Trump.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was grateful to Trump for his mediation efforts.

“At the same time, there is a big number of nuances to be discussed that can’t be neglected and which neither party is going to sacrifice, because of its national interests,” Peskov told reporters. “Just like the United States, Russia has its national interests that are of primary importance to us.”

He said that Moscow will “soon” deliver its promised memorandum on a framework for a peace settlement.

The meeting in Berlin comes as fighting continues along the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line, and both sides have conducted deep strikes. Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the war against Ukraine on Sunday.

Russian air defences downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions late on Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences shot down 33 drones heading towards the capital.

Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said 42 drones were downed. He said that drone fragments damaged three residential buildings in the village of Troitskoye, but no one was hurt.

Moscow airports delayed or diverted hundreds of flights.

Overnight, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using five Iskander ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile and 88 drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Wednesday. Air defence units shot down 34 drones, and 37 drones were jammed.

Ukraine’s railway infrastructure and equipment in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Sumy regions also came under fire overnight and Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said. No casualties were reported.

In the Kharkiv region, railway traffic was temporarily suspended so police and emergency workers could clear debris from a downed drone that landed on the tracks. In Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, the attack shattered windows at the station building, and drone debris slightly damaged a train car.