KYIV — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for an unannounced show of support as air-raid sirens and explosions sounded across the Ukrainian capital, Al Jazeera, the Associated Press and Reuters reported.
“If Russia is not stopped, its war machine will sooner or later turn against us,” Merz said in a statement after arriving by train. He said he told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine could continue to count on German help as a fifth winter of war approaches. Merz was accompanied by Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and executives from German defense and energy firms, including Siemens Energy and Diehl Defence.
Al Jazeera, citing AFP and Reuters, said a $1.1 billion military aid package was set to be announced alongside about $394 million to repair damage to Ukraine’s energy sector, and that Berlin and Kyiv were expected to finalize a joint drone and long-range weapons production deal. The leaders met at the National Academy of Sciences building, which was struck by a Russian drone on September 28. Zelenskyy told Merz that Kyiv’s residents were enduring “terrible nights and days.”
The visit came a day after Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned foreign nationals and diplomats to leave Ukraine, saying Moscow would continue mass retaliatory strikes. While Merz was in the capital, a Russian strike again hit Kyiv’s Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, damaging the roadway and a hot-water system. Germany has been among Ukraine’s largest European backers; the two countries signed a military pact worth more than $4 billion in April.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Reuters/dpa via Kyiv Independent
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