BERLIN (AP) 鈥� Ukraine and Germany are starting work on plans for the joint production of advanced drones and other battle-tested defense systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as Kyiv looks to scale up its more than four-year fight against .
鈥淲e have proposed to Germany a bilateral drone deal covering various types of drones, missiles, software and modern defense systems. Our teams are starting concrete work,鈥� Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Berlin.
Merz said that Germany鈥檚 commitment to supporting Kyiv’s war effort is 鈥渁 very clear signal鈥� to Russia.
鈥淲e will not waver in our efforts to defend Ukraine,鈥� he said.
to end Russia鈥檚 war on its neighbor have recently petered out as the grips the Trump administration鈥檚 attention, although Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that Washington 鈥渨ill continue to push for a negotiated and durable end鈥� to the war.
Russia has occupied about 20% of Ukraine so far. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.
Weapon production funding
Ukraine has the capacity to produce twice as much military equipment as it’s currently deploying, but lacks funding to step up production, according to Zelenskyy.
鈥淲e simply don鈥檛 have enough money,鈥� he said.
A key to unlocking that potential lies in obtaining a promised loan of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) from the European Union, which had been by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n, but his impending departure from office after a weekend election could now free up the money.
Ukraine needs those funds 鈥渦rgently,鈥� Merz said.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who accompanied Zelenskyy to Berlin, said Germany and Ukraine agreed a defense package valued at 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion). The agreement is 鈥渁 massive boost鈥� for Ukraine’s air defense against Russian barrages, Fedorov said on X, allowing Kyiv to buy 鈥渟everal hundred鈥� American-made Patriot missiles.
After Berlin, Zelenskyy was due to visit Norway, another important financial and military ally, while defense leaders from the 50-plus partner nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for Kyiv will hold an online meeting Wednesday, Ukraine鈥檚 Defense Ministry said.
Ukrainian troop shortfall
Kyiv is heavily reliant on U.S. intelligence for targeting inside Russia and needs more sophisticated American-made air defense systems to stop Russian missile attacks on its power grid. If the Iran war drags on, it could erode vital U.S. support for Kyiv, .
Furthermore, the Ukrainian army is short-handed, facing around 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people, Fedorov said in January.
Germany will help Kyiv facilitate the return home of Ukrainian men of military age, Merz said.
鈥淲e need rapid, tangible progress here,鈥� he said.
Domestically developed unmanned platforms are playing a vital role in holding back Russia’s invasion. Ukraine makes air and sea drones, missiles that have reached around 1,750 kilometers (1,000 miles) into Russia, as well as battlefield robots that help make up for its troop shortage.
Ukraine has been approached about security cooperation, especially battle-tested drone production, by eight Middle East and Gulf countries, as well as Turkey, Iraq and countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, Zelenskyy said on Monday.
Ukraine reportedly posts battlefield successes
Despite its handicaps, Western analysts and officials say Ukraine has in recent months recorded battlefield successes against Russia鈥檚 bigger army, disrupting a started by Russia amid improving weather, as fields dry out and new foliage on tree lines offers more cover.
Meanwhile, the long-range drones and missiles that Kyiv designs and produces are repeatedly striking oil facilities and manufacturing plants deep inside Russia.
Ukraine 鈥渋s in a much better place than it has been at any stage in this horrific war,鈥� Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday.
Ukraine 鈥渋s on top from a military perspective,鈥� Stubb said, noting that last month Ukraine fired more drones and missiles at Russia than vice versa.
Moscow has also claimed progress on the battlefield. Independent verification of each side鈥檚 claims wasn’t possible.
Russian attacks on Ukraine kill 5 civilians
Meanwhile, a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukraine city of Dnipro killed four people and left 21 hospitalized with injuries, 10 of them in serious condition, regional authorities said Tuesday.
The city鈥檚 attorney general鈥檚 office said the victims, all civilians, were driving or walking past the scene of the strike in the city, 485 kilometers (300 miles) southeast of Kyiv.
Elsewhere, a 52-year-old woman was killed in a Russian drone strike in the southern city of Kherson that also left one man seriously wounded, authorities said.
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Hanna Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report from Kyiv.
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