Germany has pledged to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on range and target options, as the government in Kyiv fights to repel Russia's invasion.
Some of the advanced weapons systems that Ukraine’s Western partners have supplied during the more than three-year war were subject to range and target restrictions. The limits have been a fraught political issue, stemming from fears that if the weapons struck Russia, the Kremlin might retaliate against the country that provided them and suck Nato into Europe's bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.
It came as Russia proposed holding a new round of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on 2 June, as Moscow comes under pressure from US president Donald Trump to end the conflict.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to Berlin and said that under an intensified cooperation agreement, Germany would "strive to equip the Ukrainian army with all the capabilities that truly enable it to successfully defend the country", including upgraded domestic missile production. Germany has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine since the war began, after the United States.
Using its own missiles, “Ukraine will be able to fully defend itself, including against military targets outside its own territory”, Mr Merz said during a joint news conference. The German leader's pledge comes after several months of intense US-led peace efforts which have brought no significant breakthrough, and with analysts saying Russia is poised to launch a major summer offensive.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Germany's offer to fund long-range missile production in Ukraine was an obstacle to reaching a peace agreement. Both Mr Merz and Mr Zelensky criticised the Kremlin's effective rejection of an unconditional ceasefire proposed by the US, which Kyiv accepted, and its delay in responding to proposals for a settlement.
Mr Merz said last Monday that Germany and other major allies were no longer imposing range limits on weapons they send to Ukraine, though he indicated their use was limited to Russian military targets. Late last year, Joe Biden authorised Ukraine to use US-supplied missiles to strike deeper into Russia; the decision allowed Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against Russia.
Mr Zelensky called for deeper defence cooperation between Europe and the United States, stressing the need for long-range capabilities and sustained military funding to ensure Ukraine's resilience. “We need sufficient long-range capabilities. That's why we must be certain of the financing of our army and the stability of Ukraine,” he said in Berlin.
Mr Zelensky said he is ready to hold peace talks at the highest level, including a trilateral meeting with himself, Vladimir Putin and 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.
Meanwhile, fighting has continued along the roughly 620-mile front line, where Ukraine's army is shorthanded against its bigger adversary. Mr Zelensky claimed Russia is mobilising up to 45,000 men every month, while Ukraine mobilises between 25,000 and 27,000.
Both sides are continuing to conduct deep strikes. Russia launched its largest drone attack to date against Ukraine on Sunday. Russian air defences downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 Russian regions late on Tuesday and early on Wednesday, Russia's defence ministry said, in what appeared to be one of the biggest Ukrainian drone assaults of the war.
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
