Germany announces €1.3-billion Ukraine aid package that includes combat drones, long-range strike weapons — SkimNews
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- Germany announced a €1.3 billion Ukraine aid package on Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to Kyiv, with about €1 billion earmarked for military aid including combat drones, long-range strike weapons, and satellite technology to target Russian launch pads.
- Zelensky said Ukraine and Germany signed 15 agreements worth €8.5 billion covering security cooperation, weapons production, procurement, and expanded joint counter-drone efforts, alongside roughly €350 million in German energy aid for winter.
- Zelensky warned that Russia launched 900 jet-powered drones in a single week and Ukraine intercepted only about half, and said he would speak with U.S. President Donald Trump about securing more F-16 ammunition.
- Zelensky said the U.S. proposed a trilateral technical-level meeting with Russia by the end of October, possibly in the UAE, and that Ukraine had told U.S. negotiators on Saturday it was ready and was waiting on Moscow's response.
- Merz accused Russia of escalating hybrid attacks on Germany itself — a drone incident at Leipzig Airport in early August, daily data-centre strikes, and disinformation campaigns — and warned that stopping Ukraine aid would only worsen the threat to Europe.
- Russian strikes since Thursday forced the closure of three of Kyiv's six road bridges, including a Sunday explosion on the Northern Bridge that wounded two people; Russia's Defence Ministry said it would intensify strikes on military-industrial facilities in response to Zelensky's comments on attacking Russian oil refineries.
- Germany has sent Ukraine more than €43.3 billion since the full-scale invasion began, making it Kyiv's largest donor, according to the article.
Why it matters: Germany is now writing the largest single cheque yet — €1.3 billion in immediate aid plus €8.5 billion in long-term signed agreements — at the exact moment Zelensky admits Ukraine is shooting down only half of Russia's jet-powered drones. With the front line deadlocked and Russia deliberately escalating against Ukrainian infrastructure as winter approaches, Merz is publicly framing continued support as existential for Germany's own security.
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