Pressure on Moscow and €5B in aid for Kyiv: Five key agreements between Merz and Zelenskyy.

On May 28, President Zelenskyy met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin where Germany agreed to provide Ukraine with €5B in military aid to assist Kyiv in developing long-range weapons to target Russian territory.

Among other issues, the five key agreements reached by the leaders are:

1. Germany will prevent the launch of Nord Stream-2 and work to weaken Moscow’s “war machine,” with Merz pledging to do everything possible to stop Nord Stream-2 operations from commencing.
2. The countries will hold intergovernmental consultations for the first time in many years.
3. Ukraine and Germany will hold a meeting with businesses regarding bilateral cooperation in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, agriculture, mechanical engineering.
4. Strengthening diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine and establish lasting peace. EU countries and institutions in Brussels share a common vision of the necessity to support such a dialogue. Merz emphasized that the US’ participation in this process is crucial for negotiations to successfully advance.
5. Continued military support for Ukraine: This includes financing the production of Ukrainian long-range systems.

“We will finance a significant part of the funds for Starlink in Ukraine. And our defense ministers will sign a statement of intent to purchase long-range systems of Ukrainian production,” the Chancellor emphasized.

Production will take place in both Ukraine and Germany. The German government plans to provide the Ukrainian arms industry with millions of euros for the independent development and serial production of cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers.