Merz announces €1.35 billion for Ukraine and joint drone production in Kyiv

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced approximately €1.35 billion in military and energy support during his visit to Kyiv on Sunday, October 4, as air-raid sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital. The package comprises about €1 billion in military assistance and €350 million to support the energy sector before winter.

The visit also advanced German-Ukrainian cooperation on drones and long-range weapons. Merz said funding would support joint production of interceptors against jet-powered attack drones, while Germany would provide stand-off weapons, combat drones and satellite technology. The two countries signed an agreement on counter-drone cooperation.

Joint production and support before winter

The production plans build on discussions between Merz and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Before the visit, German government officials described proposed cooperation covering drones, missiles and associated software, including weapons with a range exceeding 1,000 kilometres. Those plans concern development and production; they are not an announcement that such weapons have already been delivered.

German company Quantum Systems had already established a joint venture with Ukrainian manufacturer WIY Drones in April. Its April 14 announcement described Quantum WIY Industries as a platform for scaling interceptor production, including the Strila system. The earlier venture provides background to the latest industrial cooperation, rather than a new agreement announced for the first time in October.

Economy Minister Katherina Reiche accompanied Merz, together with a business delegation including representatives of Siemens Energy, Hensoldt, Diehl Defence and Quantum Systems. The delegation brought together defence and energy companies as Berlin discussed both wartime assistance and reconstruction.

Before arriving, Merz warned that Russia’s war had consequences beyond Ukraine. “If Russia is not stopped, sooner or later its war machine will turn against us,” he said, translated from German. In Kyiv, he reiterated that Ukraine could rely on German support.

The energy allocation covers generators, substations and repairs. Merz also called for progress on rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms, saying they mattered for further financial assistance. The discussion followed the EU’s latest Ukraine Facility payment decision. Berlin said it wanted to accelerate Ukraine’s European Union accession.

Another attack on Kyiv’s Northern Bridge

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported damage to the Northern Bridge and a heating pipeline during Sunday’s Russian drone attack. Two people were injured, one requiring hospital treatment. Damage to the pipeline disrupted hot-water supplies in the Desnianskyi district.

The attack was the fourth consecutive day on which Kyiv’s bridges had come under fire. Aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap described the repeated strikes as pressure on the capital’s transport links, although he questioned whether small attack drones could destroy the bridges. That assessment remains an expert interpretation of the attacks, rather than a confirmed Russian operational objective.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry had warned foreign nationals and diplomatic personnel on October 3 against remaining in or travelling to Ukraine, while describing further strikes as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks. Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine would intensify attacks on Russian refineries, citing what he described as a new Russian approach to striking civilian infrastructure. Merz reiterated during his October 4 press conference that Germany would not be intimidated by Russian hybrid attacks.