German Chancellor Friedrich Merz mentioned Wednesday throughout a go to by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Berlin will assist Kyiv develop new long-range weapons that may hit targets in Russian territory. He mentioned each nations’ protection ministers would signal a memorandum of understanding for the manufacturing of long-range weapons techniques, declining to offer technical particulars or title the producers concerned.
Zelenskyy’s Berlin go to comes days after Russia launched a few of its heaviest missile and drone assaults of the battle on Ukraine, and as President Trump voices rising frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian president accused Russia of stalling peace talks and mentioned Moscow didn’t need to halt its three-year invasion, including that “they will constantly look for reasons not to end the war.”
Ongoing Russian strikes are warfare crimes, U.N. consultants conclude
Merz mentioned “the massive air strikes, particularly on the city of Kyiv over the weekend, do not speak the language of peace, but rather the language of a war of aggression,” calling it, “a slap in the face of all those who are trying to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine itself, but also in Europe and the USA.”
Russia’s navy has dedicated “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes” in its drone assaults on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s Kherson area specifically, a panel of United Nations consultants concludes in a report revealed Wednesday. The Impartial Worldwide Fee of Inquiry on Ukraine, established by the U.N. Human Rights Council, mentioned Russian armed forces had been “systematically” hitting civilians.
“Russian armed forces have committed the crimes against humanity of murder and the war crimes of attacking civilians, through a months-long pattern of drone attacks targeting civilians on the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Province,” the inquiry mentioned in its atypically blunt evaluation. “These acts were committed with the primary purpose to spread terror among the civilian population, in violation of international humanitarian law.”
The U.N. panel added that “the attacks are continuing at the time of the publication of this report.”
Germany calls Ukraine missile deal a “new form of military-industrial cooperation”
Merz, who took energy early this month, has vowed to maintain strongly backing Ukraine, however with out giving particulars of which weapons Germany is sending, in keeping with a coverage of strategic ambiguity.
The joint manufacturing of long-range weapons “can take place both in Ukraine and here in Germany,” he mentioned. “We will not provide any further details until further notice.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with navy honors on the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Might 28, 2025.
Christian Marquardt/NurPhoto/Getty
Merz hailed the challenge as “the beginning of a new form of military-industrial cooperation between our countries that has great potential.”
Merz had identified in a TV interview this week that already “there are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans.”
“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia… With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that.”
Certainly, Ukraine has stepped up assaults on what it claims are navy and military-industrial websites deep inside Russia, together with a wave of virtually 300 drones that Russia’s navy claimed to have intercepted in a single day. Ukrainian navy bloggers mentioned the drones had focused drone, missile and explosive manufacturing services, together with one north of Moscow, and different websites close to the capital itself.
That could be a cost Russia has issued for months, nonetheless, and Lavrov famous that German tanks had been already on the battlefield, “therefore, direct involvement in the war is already obvious.”
“Germany is sliding down the same inclined plane along which it has already moved a couple of times in the last century – down to its collapse. I hope that responsible politicians in this country will still draw the right conclusion, stop the madness,” Tass quoted Lavrov as saying.
Kremlin suggests Trump being misinformed after he calls Putin “crazy”
Taking up from center-left chief Olaf Scholz, Merz has modified the tone in Berlin and voiced harsh criticism of Putin who, the chancellor charged this week, “obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness.”
Mr. Trump, who had lengthy promised that he would shortly dealer an finish to the warfare, issued a uncommon rebuke of Putin on social media on Sunday.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” the president mentioned.
Moscow at first appeared to downplay his remarks, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggesting that each one events had been talking underneath situations of emotional overload.
He mentioned the American chief didn’t “fully understand that the Russian Federation is striking exclusively at military infrastructure facilities or the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.”
The false declare comes after many months of Russian rocket and drone strikes hitting Ukrainian condominium buildings and different civilian infrastructure, killing a whole bunch of civilians.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump warned that Putin was “playing with fire,” amid unconfirmed studies that the U.S. chief is now contemplating contemporary sanctions towards Russia, one thing the US’ NATO allies have lengthy referred to as for.
