By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BERLIN/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukraine and Germany have agreed to jointly produce long-range missiles that could reach distant targets in Russia.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said Wednesday that the weapons would be produced on Ukrainian soil as part of a new 5 billion euros ($5.7 billion) German aid package for Kyiv.
“Our defense ministers will sign a memorandum of understanding today regarding the procurement of Ukrainian-manufactured long-range weapons systems,” Merz told reporters after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.
“There will be no range restrictions, allowing Ukraine to fully defend itself, even against military targets outside its own territory,” he added.
The pact was inked after Zelenskyy arrived in Germany’s capital in search of more support as Russian attacks intensified amid evidence that Moscow was planning a broad summer offensive.
The deal came while Zelenskyy warned that Russia amassed 50,000 troops in the Sumy region bordering Russia, where Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants to “establish a buffer zone.”
WEAPONS SECRET
However, the German and Ukrainian leaders declined to detail what specific weapons would be manufactured in Ukraine to push back Russia’s military.
They said keeping the exact weapons lineup as secretive as possible was prudent. However, Zelenskyy confirmed that he expected the first weapons to be ready by June next year.
Observers said they expect Berlin to supply Ukraine with technical components to build and maintain its long-range weaponry, including rockets and cruise missiles, with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles).
Merz refused to say whether Germany would deploy Taurus missiles in Ukraine, enabling Kyiv to strike Russian military targets over the border.
Analysts said the weapons production on Ukrainian soil rather than Kyiv receiving “made-in-Germany” missiles would enable Berlin to calm down critics fearing Germany being dragged into a broader conflict 80 years after World War Two.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israel’s political crisis deepened this week as former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett renewed demands for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign over what critics have dubbed the “Qatargate” affair—claims that Netanyahu’s office and allies firmly reject as a manufactured scandal already dismissed by the courts.
The U.S. economy grew at a robust 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, marking its fastest expansion in two years, according to new data released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump can’t use National Guard troops in Chicago to help federal immigration enforcement, in another blow to the president’s push for federalization nationwide.
Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said late Tuesday that the country has suffered a “great loss” after its military chief was confirmed among eight people killed in a private plane crash shortly after takeoff from Turkey’s capital, Ankara.
The Netherlands remained on edge Tuesday after a car drove into a crowd of people waiting to watch a Christmas parade in the eastern Dutch town of Nunspeet, injuring numerous people at a time when Europe has faced several threats against holiday events.
Officials say massive Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine have killed at least three people, including a four-year-old child, while cutting power to several regions just two days before Christmas, as the country faces bitter winter cold.
The remaining 130 schoolchildren and staff abducted by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria last month — one of the largest mass kidnappings in the country’s history — have been freed, officials confirmed.