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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz used an unannounced visit to Kyiv to announce weapons and energy-repair aid worth about €1.35 billion as Russian strikes hit the capital.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv by train on Sunday, 4 October 2026, and announced a package of weapons and energy-sector support for Ukraine worth about €1.35 billion, or about $1.5 billion, Bloomberg reported. The visit came a day after the Kremlin warned that foreign diplomats in the capital were in mortal danger.
Bloomberg said the assistance would include long-range weapons, combat drones and satellite technology, plus €350 million for repairs to energy infrastructure repeatedly targeted by Russian forces. Reuters reported the German chancellor announced military aid of about €1 billion alongside an energy-support programme.
Air-raid sirens and explosions were heard in Kyiv during the visit, Reuters reported. Merz and President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the badly damaged building of Ukraine's Academy of Sciences, where at least two people were killed in a drone strike the previous week.
Merz travelled with Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche and a business delegation that included executives from Siemens Energy, Hensoldt, Diehl Defence and Quantum Systems, Reuters reported. He was also expected to press Kyiv on reforms sought by European Union partners, including anti-corruption measures.
Zelensky said earlier in the week, after a call with Merz, that Ukraine would soon finalise an agreement with Germany on production of drones, missiles and related software. The aid announcement is a fresh German commitment while fighting and strikes on the capital continued.
People Sentiments Mixed
- The Kremlin had warned a day earlier that foreign diplomats in Kyiv were in mortal danger.
- Zelensky said Ukraine would soon finalise a production agreement with Germany on drones and missiles.