Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara held a meeting with German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz and briefed him on developments on the battlefield, Russia’s mobilisation plans, and the challenges Ukraine is facing today. In particular, they discussed jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles.
The Ministry of Defence press service reported this.
The two discussed the front’s needs and which solutions are important to scale up. They also focused specifically on strengthening Ukraine’s air defences and mobilising partners’ efforts on this issue. Khmara handed Merz a list of weapons needed by the Defence Forces — ammunition for F-16s and missiles for IRIS-T and Patriot systems.
Khmara thanked the German Chancellor for consistent and sustained support for Ukraine. In 2026 alone, the volume of assistance amounts to €11.5 billion, which is about a third of all military aid this year and the largest contribution to Ukraine’s defence among all partner countries.
Khmara also took part in the Ukrainian-German business forum, which discussed how to move from individual projects to a joint Ukrainian-German scaling programme and then to systematic joint production.
Following the forum, the Defence Minister signed five documents with German defence companies. Their implementation will enable Ukraine to purchase missiles, precision-guided munitions, radars and other weaponry.