Germany to help Ukraine make more weapons to strengthen hand in peace talks
Germany aims to help Ukraine manufacture more weapons more quickly as Kyiv looks to strengthen its negotiating position in peace talks with Russia about ending their more than three-year war, the top German diplomat said.
'We see our task as helping Ukraine so that it can negotiate more strongly,' foreign minister Johann Wadephul said during a visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Monday accompanied by German defence industry representatives.
Advertisement
US-led international peace efforts have failed to make progress on halting the fighting.
Our institutions are working on the synchronization of European and Ukrainian sanctions. We are also fully aligning the European sanctions package targeting the regime in Iran, which includes numerous individuals, companies, and entities not only involved in military production…
pic.twitter.com/cdUdJnbeo7
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa)
June 29, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected a ceasefire and has not budged from his war goals.
'When Putin speaks of peace today, it is pure mockery,' Mr Wadephul told a news conference with Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
'His apparent readiness to negotiate is only a facade so far.'
Advertisement
Russia's invasion shows no sign of letting up.
Its grinding war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line and long-range strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine have killed thousands of troops and civilians.
Ukraine is outgunned and short-handed on the front line and international aid has been vital for Ukraine's resistance against its neighbour's bigger army and economy.
Germany has been Ukraine's second-largest military backer after the United States, whose continuing support is in doubt.
Advertisement
'We want to build new joint ventures so that Ukraine itself can produce faster and more for its own defence, because your needs are enormous,' Mr Wadephul said while standing next to Mr Sybiha.
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul, left, and Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha talk during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
'Our arms cooperation is a real trump card — it is a logical continuation of our delivery of material,' Mr Wadephul said.
'And we can even benefit mutually from it — with your wealth of ideas and your experience, we will become better.'
Mr Wadephul was also due to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Advertisement
The top German diplomat's trip to Kyiv came less than 48 hours after Russia launched its biggest combined aerial attack against Ukraine over the weekend, Ukrainian officials said, in an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts.
Ukraine's air force said on Monday it detected 107 Russian Shahed and decoy drones in the country's air space overnight.
Strikes in Ukraine's north-eastern Kharkiv region left two civilians dead and eight injured, including a six-year-old child, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Monday.
The aerial onslaughts are calculated by Russia to squeeze Ukraine into submission, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Advertisement
'Russia is continuing to use increasingly large numbers of drones in its overnight strike packages in order to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences and enable subsequent cruise and ballistic missile strikes,' the Washington-based think tank said late on Sunday.
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul, left, and Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha stand at the entrance of St Michael Monastery in Kyiv (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
'The increases in Russia's strike packages in recent weeks are largely due to Russia's efforts to scale up its defence industrial production, particularly of Shahed and decoy drones and ballistic missiles,' the institute added.
Mr Sybiha thanked Germany for its contribution to Ukraine's air defence and urged Berlin to send more anti-missile systems.
The Russians 'are attacking civilian targets in order to create panic, to influence the mood of our population', he said. 'The key is the air defence system.'
Berlin has balked at granting Mr Zelensky's request to provide Ukraine with powerful German and Swedish-made Taurus long-range missiles, which could potentially hit targets inside Russia.
That is due to fears such a move could enrage the Kremlin and draw Nato into Europe's biggest conflict since the Second World War.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged in May to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their use and targets.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
43 minutes ago
- BBC News
July Tynwald sitting extended for high volume of business
The July sitting of the Manx parliament has been moved forward by a day to accommodate the "extra large volume of business before the court", the President of Tynwald has Skelly confirmed the meeting would start on 14 July, previously scheduled for a day later. It is the final session before members break up for the summer recess. The busy agenda is set to include debates on the Chief Constable's annual report, a £15.3m overspend in health for the last financial year and changes to how the island's minimum wage is calculated. Other items include the regulations governing the introduction of an opt-out system for organ Council of Ministers' updated report on inward migration and a select committee report footpaths, bridleways and green lanes are also expected to be sitting marks the final meeting of parliamentary members with no further House of Keys sittings, before the summer follows the island's national celebration Tynwald Day, which this year falls on 7 July. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Renault to report $11.2 billion loss on Nissan stake in first half
PARIS, July 1 (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault ( opens new tab said on Tuesday it will report an estimated 9.5 billion euro ($11.20 billion) non-cash loss on its stake in Nissan Motor (7201.T), opens new tab in the first half after changing the way it accounts for the investment. Renault, which holds a 35.7% stake in Nissan, said in the future, any change in the value of the holding would be directly recognised in equity and assessed based on Nissan's share price, with no impact on its net income. The change, which it also said will have no effect on dividends paid by Renault, comes after the two companies agreed to loosen their ties and adjust a two-decade partnership to help support the Japanese firm's recovery. ($1 = 0.8483 euros)
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Landmark EU tech rules holding back innovation, Google says
BRUSSELS, July 1 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google will on Tuesday warn EU antitrust regulators and its critics that landmark European Union rules aimed at reining in Big Tech are hampering innovation to the detriment of European users and businesses. The U.S. tech giant will also urge regulators to give more detailed guidance to help it comply with the rules, and ask its critics to provide evidence of costs and benefits to prove their case. Google is under pressure to address charges under the EU's Digital Markets Act that it favours its own services such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels and Google Flights over rivals. The charges may result in fines of as much as 10% of its global annual revenue. Earlier this month, Google proposed more changes to its search results to better showcase rival products, but critics say these still do not ensure a level playing field. "We remain genuinely concerned about real world consequences of the DMA, which are leading to worse online products and experiences for Europeans," Google's lawyer Clare Kelly will tell a workshop organised by the European Commission to give Google critics the opportunity to seek clarifications. She will say changes implemented by Google to date after discussions with the Commission and its critics have resulted in European users paying more for travel tickets as they cannot directly access airline sites, according to a copy of her speech seen by Reuters. Kelly will also say European airlines, hotels and restaurants have reported up to a 30% loss in direct booking traffic, while users have complained about clunky workarounds. Google's other lawyer, Oliver Bethell, will ask regulators to spell out in detail what the company needs to do, and critics to come up with hard evidence. "If we can understand precisely what compliance looks like, not just in theory, but taking account of on the ground experience, we can launch compliant services quickly and confidently across the EEA," he will say. The EEA is the 27 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. "We need help identifying the areas where we should focus. That means bringing real evidence of costs and benefits that we can take account of with the Commission," Bethell said. The day-long workshop starts at 0700 GMT.
