Zelensky and Merz in Berlin. Bloomberg
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Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Germany will work with Ukraine to produce long-range weapons, intensifying cooperation with the war-battered nation as European allies pile pressure on Russia to engage in talks to end the war.
The German leader, who this week said there were "absolutely no range limits" on Ukrainian forces making deep strikes into Russian territory, spoke after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin. He called the Kremlin's assault on Kiev in the past week a "slap in the face" to diplomatic efforts to engage Moscow.
"The massive air strikes on the city of Kiev in particular over the weekend do not speak the language of peace, but rather the language of a war of aggression," Merz said Wednesday alongside Zelensky, who made his first trip to the German capital since the new chancellor took office this month.
The Ukrainian leader on Tuesday called on western allies to provide $30 billion by the end of the year to boost domestic weapons production and hold off Russia's advance. With US support waning and diplomatic efforts stalling, Kiev has increasingly focused on relying on its own resources.
Neither leader provided details on the weapons cooperation - and Merz balked at questions about German deliveries of Taurus cruise missiles, which Berlin has refused to send. But the chancellor said the work will aim to allow Ukraine to adequately defend itself against Russia. Zelensky said German and Ukrainian teams will lock in an agreement on financing new projects.
"These projects already exist, we simply want them to be in the possible quantity that we so much require," the Ukrainian leader said.
• 'Obstruction'
Responding within an hour of Merz's remarks, the Russian government said the German leader's comments amounted to a provocation.
"It is nothing other than continued attempts to force Ukrainians to keep fighting," the Tass state news service reported Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. "And it is nothing other than an obstruction of efforts to move toward a peaceful resolution."
Merz repeated his demand on Putin to engage in talks over a ceasefire, "in the Vatican, Geneva, or a third location." European leaders have sought to increase pressure as President Donald Trump this week warned that Putin is "playing with fire."
Since taking office three weeks ago, Merz has signaled a shift from the more cautious approach of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, taking a stronger line on support for Ukraine's fight to repel the Russian invasion. The German leader also reinforced his position that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will remain inactive.
"On behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, I say: in this context, we will do everything we can to ensure that Nord Stream 2 does not come back online," he said.
Scholz had long ruled out dispatching Taurus missiles, with a range of up to 500 kilometers (300 miles), enabling them to hit targets in Moscow. And though Merz was silent on the issue, he's expressed approval of its use.
His coalition government has agreed not to disclose information on weapons deliveries.
Germany is the second-biggest supporter of Ukraine after the US and sustaining future supplies of weapons and ammunition will be critical, since Trump's support has remained unclear.
The date of the next round of direct talks with Ukraine will be announced soon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told an international security conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
Ukraine's neutral status remains a key Russian demand for a peace settlement, he added in televised comments.
(COMMENT, BELOW)