Merz in Kyiv: €1B for Long-Range Strikes and Jet Drones
The German Chancellor took a surprise train into Kyiv, brought along arms and energy bosses, and skipped the usual diplomatic hand-wringing.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not roll into Kyiv just to pose for solemn handshake photos. He brought his economy minister Katharina Reiche and a whole squad of arms executives straight to the table.
The shopping list is unusually direct: thousands of interceptor drones to counter fast Russian jet-powered UAVs, plus €1 billion unblocked from existing funds specifically to accelerate long-range weapons designed to hit Russian logistics deep behind the front lines.
Throw in another €350 million to patch up blasted thermal power plants before winter, and it looks like Berlin is done tiptoeing. Merz even openly admitted this is not a one-way charity mission—German defense contractors are desperately learning from Ukrainian combat tech to make their own hardware relevant.
European defense strategy apparently speeds up exponentially the moment someone in power finally admits their own backyard is next if the frontline moves west.
Source: DW
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