Informative · Russia-Ukraine war

Germany just sent Ukraine weapons that can hit deep inside Russia

2 hours ago · 4 October 2026Share

President Zelenskyy met with Chancellor Merz in Kyiv. — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss military assistance and steps to establish a just peace. President Of Ukraine · CC0

Germany's Chancellor just turned up in Kyiv by train.

Friedrich Merz got there this morning. He brought €1.35 billion with him.

And he brought a deal too. Germany and Ukraine are going to build weapons together. Weapons that can hit more than 1,000 kilometres. That's deep inside Russia.

This is his first trip to Ukraine since 2025.

So what's the €1.35 billion for? €1 billion is military aid. €350 million is for fixing Ukraine's energy system, which Russia has been bombing for months.

Friedrich Merz didn't come alone. Katherina Reiche, Germany's Economy Minister, came with him. So did executives from Siemens Energy, Hensoldt, Diehl Defence and Quantum Systems.

And here's the big one. Germany and Ukraine are going to jointly produce several types of drones. Plus develop long-range weapons together, on Ukrainian soil.

Friedrich Merz says quote "I travelled to Kyiv today because Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks". He said if Russia isn't stopped, its war machine will turn against Germany and the rest of Europe eventually.

That's Germany's own leader saying this war doesn't stop at Ukraine's border.

Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, met him at Kyiv's railway station.

This drone deal has been coming for months. Quantum Systems, a German company, teamed up with Ukraine's WIY Drones back in April to build the Strila interceptor drone. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's President, said earlier this week that the wider deal, covering drones, missiles and software, would be finalised soon.

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A damaged building in Kyiv after Russian invasion. — A missile-damaged building in Kyiv after the invasion of Russian troops. File photo. Kisnaak · CC BY-SA 4.0

But Friedrich Merz walked into a city getting hit.

A Russian drone struck Kyiv's Pivnichnyi Bridge this morning. It smashed the roadway. Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv's mayor, said it also damaged a heating main, so the Desnianskyi district lost its hot water.

The same bridge got hit the day before. Two people were injured then. And Kyiv's other river crossing, the Pivdennyi Bridge, was hit twice on 1 October, then again the next day.

So that's four days straight of bridge strikes on the capital.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian drones also hit a pharmaceutical warehouse in Sumy and a communications facility in Dnipro. One person was killed. Six were wounded.

And overnight, Russia launched 135 attack drones. More than 50 of them were jet-powered.

Friedrich Merz and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met at the National Academy of Sciences building in Kyiv. A Russian drone had hit that exact building about a week earlier.

The day before Friedrich Merz landed, Russia's foreign ministry told foreign nationals to stay away from Ukraine. It said anyone who ignored that warning would bear the consequences. Russia hasn't commented on the visit itself.

Friedrich Merz came anyway. He brought ten business leaders from Germany's defence and energy industries with him.

The exact terms of the drone deal aren't public yet. And the damage from this morning's strikes is still being worked out.

But the message from both sides landed at the same time. Germany pledging weapons that can reach into Russia. Russia bombing the bridges of the capital where that pledge was made.

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Germany just sent Ukraine weapons that can hit deep inside Russia

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