Merz Unveils $1.5 Billion Ukraine Aid in Kyiv as Russia Strikes Academy of Sciences
The German chancellor arrived by train as a Russian drone attack killed two people at the National Academy of Sciences and damaged a Dnieper bridge.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced more than 1.3 billion euros, about $1.5 billion, in new aid for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday, even as Russian forces escalated attacks on the capital.
Merz traveled to the city by train, a day after the Kremlin warned foreign diplomats in Kyiv that they were in "mortal danger." About 1 billion euros of the package is military aid. Merz said it includes "long-range strike weapons, combat drones and satellite technology," which would let Ukraine also target Russian launch sites. Another 350 million euros will go toward energy aid before winter, covering generators, substations and repairs.
He and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also signed 15 bilateral agreements valued at more than 8.5 billion euros, focused on security cooperation and weapons production. Germany committed to co-producing interceptor drones designed to counter Russia's jet-powered drones. Zelenskyy said Russia launched 900 such drones this week alone, and that Ukrainian forces intercepted roughly half.
The two leaders visited the National Academy of Sciences, the site of a deadly Russian drone attack last week, and their tour was interrupted by an air-raid alert. During Merz's visit, Russian forces struck the Academy of Sciences building again, killing two people. Drone strikes also damaged the Northern Bridge over the Dnieper River and wounded two civilians. The attacks have forced the closure of three of Kyiv's six road bridges.
Merz called on President Vladimir Putin to end what he described as a senseless war. Germany remains Ukraine's largest bilateral donor, having provided more than 43.3 billion euros since the invasion began.
Zelenskyy also said the United States has proposed trilateral talks by late October, possibly in the United Arab Emirates, at the technical level, and that Ukraine is willing to take part.
Elsewhere, Russia struck the Kharkiv region, killing one person and injuring six, and hit port and industrial sites in the Odesa region. Russia's defense ministry said it hit two Ukrainian cargo vessels at the port of Chornomorsk. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would keep targeting Russian oil refineries and rejected claims that Kyiv strikes civilians, saying Russia has adopted a new doctrine that widens civilian targets before winter.
Germany's own intelligence chief, Martin Jaeger, warned this week that the country risks "violent conflict" with Russia, pointing to an attempted attack on Leipzig airport as a sign of escalation.
The aid comes as Washington presses for diplomacy while Europe carries more of the military burden. Merz's decision to travel into a city under repeated attack, hours after the Kremlin's warning to diplomats, was meant as a show of resolve.
The interceptor-drone deal addresses a specific problem. Russia's jet-powered drones fly faster than the propeller-driven Shahed-type models that Ukraine's defenses were built to counter, and Zelenskyy said only about half of the 900 launched this week were shot down.
