BERLIN, April 14 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin at the chancellery on Tuesday as part of German-Ukrainian government
Merz and Zelenskiy sign drone and defence cooperation accords
Germany and Ukraine Deepen Defence Ties with Major Drone Agreement
By Andreas Rinke and Yuliia Dysa
Overview of the Defence Cooperation Accords
BERLIN, April 14 (Reuters) - Germany and Ukraine agreed defence cooperation plans on Tuesday including a deal on drone production that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said could become one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
The accords, signed during a visit to Berlin by Zelenskiy and Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, underline the growing stature of Ukraine's defence industry after more than four years of a war marked by rapid innovation in drone technology.
Statements from Leaders
"No defence industry has become more innovative than Ukraine's," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a news conference in Berlin. "Through our support, we are strengthening both German and European defence capabilities and our industrial base."
Germany's Military Aid and Support
Germany is Europe's largest provider of military aid to Kyiv. It has delivered about 55 billion euros ($64 billion) since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and has set aside 11.5 billion euros in the current budget.
Allocation of Support Funds
Much of the support has been used to fund purchases of U.S. weapons. On Tuesday, Germany's defence ministry said it would pay for hundreds of Patriot air defence missiles from U.S. defence group Raytheon and launchers for IRIS-T air defence systems from Germany's Diehl Defence.
Details of the Drone Agreement
Zelenskiy said teams from both countries were still working on the scope and details of the drone agreement, which builds on existing cooperation between German and Ukrainian companies.
Potential Impact and Scale
"Germany is a major partner of ours, so I am confident that we will have one of the largest - indeed the largest - agreements of this kind at least in Europe," he said.
Joint Venture and Investment
Germany's defence ministry said the project would create a joint venture to supply thousands of drones to the Ukrainian military. Berlin also agreed to invest several hundred million euros to finance so-called deep strike capabilities.
Broader Geopolitical Context
Stalled U.S. Negotiations
U.S. efforts to negotiate an end to the war have stalled since the start of the war with Iran, but Merz said Europe's involvement in any agreement with Moscow was "indispensable".
Upcoming Security Meetings
He said a meeting of national security advisers was being organised and that the U.S. would be invited to participate.
(Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger and James Mackenzie in Berlin and Anna Pruchnicka in Kyiv. Writing by James Mackenzie. Editing by Mark Potter)
